


Rewinding Ways

by Ysavvryl



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anime Is Real, Demons and Angels, Door Hater, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic-Users, Multi, Power of Friendship, Redemption, Soulless Pacifist Route, Time Travel, romantic relationships are secondary plots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 167,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6230056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysavvryl/pseuds/Ysavvryl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Do you believe that anyone can be a good person if they just try?  I believed some people simply couldn't be good.  You never seemed to try.  But your situation is more complicated than I believed.  There might be a glimmer of a good person in you yet.  If you have any heart at all, prove him right.  If you want to be redeemed, bring the children back home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly a challenge to myself, to tell basically the same story I've told before (in Load State Three) with the same characters, some similar concepts, and same general plot, but then change the presentation and main character enough so that it's actually a different story. And Undertale is a good place to play around with that. Hope you enjoy this!

Loop 57

“What are you doing?”

In everlasting blackness, in endless darkness, a single red light tried to shine. Shadow fingers gripped tight, squeezing. He felt nothing even though he knew it was hurting him. He struggled. With no other light, with just the emptiness, there should be nothing he could do. He still struggled.

“You're pathetic. You've lost everything: your morals, your emotions, your voice, your name, your body, your life, even your very soul. All you have is determination and that one power.”

Which meant, he hadn't really lost everything.

“Yet you keep struggling to move on. You don't know when to quit. Why keep going back? What is there that you care so much about that you can't let it go? You shouldn't be able to care at all. There's no point. All you have to do now is give up and it's all over. Even if you try, for whatever masochistic reason you have, you've already lost.

What reason? What reason was there? He just kept going, that's what he always did. Even as he lost so much, he kept going. Why? A distant memory came in: a wooded air full of life, fresh summer shining down through healthy green leaves, high up in the trees with nothing to bring him down, a realization that he could do anything, really anything he desired because he could just keep trying until he got things right, a youthful ambition to experience everything life had to offer. That was it. He could not regain his innocence, but he could get back close to that feeling. Just keep going, even if it was towards a new goal.

“I own you. I control you.”

Not fully.

“There's nothing you can do that I won't be able to counter. Now, give me what I truly want. Give me your power.”

He had no voice... no. he would force himself. He'd regain what he'd lost.

“No!”

And time moved backwards, back into the world that had been.

* * *

 

Loop 106

He would regain it all.

Pausing in his task of shoveling snow, the teenaged boy looked over the edge of the cliff. The cold winds and swirling snowflakes hinted that this storm wasn't over, but he had a feeling something was going to happen. His heavy black wizard cloak was good protection, although he kept thinking that he should have brought out something to protect his eyes too. Past the cliff, there was a wide valley dense with trees. This brought the eyes up to a mountain a mile off, piercing the icy sky with a dark looming spire. There were other mountains around, but that one was cursed.

A flicker of magic, white against the gray overcast, caught his attention. He knew what it was. “And the end begins again,” he said, catching the flicker when it raced towards him.

It was a paper airplane with a familiar note. 'do you believe that anyone can be a good person if they just try? i believed that some people simply couldn't be good. you never seemed to try. but your situation is more complicated than i believed. there might be a glimmer of a good person in you yet. if you have any heart at all, prove him right. if you want to be redeemed, bring the children back home.'

This time, there was more to it. 'you haven't shown up down here in a while. maybe you're trying, maybe you're just being lazy. sometimes doing nothing is the better option. but perhaps doing nothing is its own sin when you know what will come. still, you're the one with that power, it's only your choice that matters in the end.'

“I can't as I am,” he said. Although time was short, there might be time enough for one thing.

“Nevyn, are you okay?” an old man called out. His boots crunched in the snow, his black scarf not tied as neatly as usual.

That wasn't his name, just a placeholder. “The end's coming, Master Joachim.” He showed the unfolded paper airplane. “I got the note, that's one sign.”

After flickers of magic appeared in front of his eyes, he nodded. “You were right. In that case, let me tell you something. You really have to stop isolating yourself.”

Of all the potential advice he might have given, that was it? “What do you mean?” Nevyn asked.

“Your gaze is still cold,” he said. “It is amazing how much you throw your whole self into your goals, but that limits your view of the world. You need to open up to others, be less cautious. When you first came to me, I could believe your story because of how serious and cold you acted for a nine-year-old boy. But there is warmth and kindness in you when you stop being guarded. You were so happy back when you made that cake for my birthday, even if all you did was relax some.”

“Was I?” he asked, able to feel but not able to put names to all feelings yet. “When we next meet, I'll be a stranger to you.” He could feel a prick of loneliness just saying that, even with him right here. “That's why I didn't want to get close, I knew that I wasn't going to solve the issue with this loop.”

Joachim shook his head. “I don't think you're going to get your corruption any lower until you care more about others. Look, you know the jewelry box I have?”

As he mentioned it, Nevyn could recall it clearly. It was hand-carved out of cedar, with brass hinges and a lock. On the top, there was a nicely done carving of a unicorn in the woods. It had once been a gift to Joachim's wife. He kept mostly small mementos in there, like the wedding rings. “What about it?'

“Let's say a pin gets bent and I put it in the box. It's not going to fix itself being locked inside; I'd have to unlock the box and take it out to get it repaired.” The old man took his arm, braver than most. “And you're not going to completely fix this problem if you keep your heart locked up. You've done much, but your corruption level is still over two hundred percent.”

“But that means making friends when I know I have to say goodbye to them,” he said. And often before they died, like what would happen soon.

“Do you regret meeting me?” he asked.

“No,” he said quickly. “I... I did feel sort of normal for a while, which I guess made me happy because I've never felt like I could live a normal life. It, well, hurts to know the end of our relationship is here.”

“I know, but you don't give up trying to fix it.”

The young man shrugged. “When you know everything is going to end but you've got a chance to stop it, you have to keep your eye on that chance and not let the magnitude get to you. Take strength from the little things because you need it for times like now.”

“But you don't fix things with a broken tool,” he pointed out. Nevyn took a chance and looked at him, seeing concern in Joachim's eyes. “You've got to fix yourself and I know you know it. I want you to promise me that no matter how many more loops this takes, you'll try to make at least one new friend each time. When you've got friends to support you, you can take strength from them too. I know there's times when this life is easier because of my fellow forest rangers, the friends I have in the city, and you.”

For a moment, he didn't say anything. The two thoughts bantered fiercely in his mind. He could keep playing it safe and not hurt himself like this again. But then, doing this alone didn't make him happy. He had hoped that maybe this time, the mountain wouldn't fall and he could grow past eighteen for once. And there was that point that the corruption worked to distance a person from others. Logically, the way to degenerate the corruption further would be to get closer to others. But it was also logical to agree to satisfy his master and not do anything to make friends. When they would meet again, Joachim would never know that he made him promise this.

But, Nevyn would know. Like he knew many other things. One of which was that this lifetime didn't feel as much of a grind thanks to his friendship to his master. “I'll try, I promise,” he said.

“Good, I hope the corruption doesn't keep you from keeping that,” the old man said, patting his back in approval. “Since we must part here, let me give you the unlocking spell for the master's study in the Hearthstone Library.”

“You're really going to give that to me?” he asked, pleasantly surprised at the offer. It had become a joke between them that he would ask once a month and be refused.

“Your plans require information that can only be found there,” he said in an echo of his continual argument. “By the time I could agree that you needed that information, there wasn't enough time between then and now for you to really get a grasp on what needs to be done. I thought you might head back once you got the key spell, but I believed you'd benefit more in relearning importance of friendship and caring. Now that we've come to a point when there's no time left, I'll give it to you so that you can take one of your loops to study. You might just need that time, maybe even more.”

“I can squeeze time for all it's worth,” he said. “Although, it gets easier the less I do that.”

“Do what you must. I believe in you, kid. And I'll be seeing you in the past.”

“Hopefully,” Nevyn said, bringing his tablet out. He needed to jot down the new part of the note too. “This note always says that my redemption is through bringing the children home. I want to take a quick look in the underground and use a tracking spell to figure out where they might be. Of course, they're hardly going to be children anymore.”

“This would be a good time to do that. Good luck; I hope it doesn't take too much longer to reclaim your self.” Joachim then taught Nevyn the key spell for the library, a valuable resource that had always been out of his hands. Once the notes were made, the young man bowed to his master, then cast a fleetness spell on his feet. There was time, but not a lot of it.

A shimmering black glow appeared at his soles. When he backed away, he skimmed over the snow. As long as some contact was made between the magic and some object, this enchantment would speed him up and keep him from needing to hit the ground. Nevyn then raced towards the edge, sprung off the fence, and darted across the tops of the trees. His cloak warmed in response to shield his body from the effects from moving so fast; the fluttering bottom hem dissipated the heat and kept it from building too much. Keeping alert to always make contact with the treetops, he made it across the valley in seconds without dropping down to where the tree trunks would make this more dangerous.

Then, he was on Mt. Ebott itself. The ground trembled when he got himself to a long enough area to slow down to a stop. Why did the mountain always collapse in this year? It wasn't always now during winter; sometimes it lasted into spring. It was a fated event, but something had to be intentionally causing it to collapse. If it were natural, it would fall at the same times.

Nevyn knew of several entrances to the underground; there'd probably be more around due to the frequent rock slides in the past few years. But he also wanted to check on the barrier itself, so it would be best to go where it had been cast. After taking a moment to assure himself, he reset the Fleetfoot spell and darted up the mountain.

There were several reasons this mountain was said to be cursed, including that monsters were sealed underneath it. However, the main reason that concerned locals was that it was a treacherous climb. The native magic was powerful, leading to enchanted landscape that might or might not be there. The slopes were of varying degrees, the paths winding and narrow. According to his master, sometimes expert climbers or people who thought they were expert climbers would attempt to scale it. Very few ever came back; those who did would not walk away unscathed.

Thus, it wasn't a big surprise when he tried to land on a rock jutting out of a cliff and found nothing there. Fleetfoot wouldn't work on walls and the ground came up fast. Still, it didn't scare him. He activated his native power, causing time to rewind back to when he'd started the climb. That power was the only reason he was even trying this. Checking the cliff that had stopped him, he noted another potential route up and tried again.

It took over a dozen rewinds, pausing any time he found reasonable ground to keep himself calm. He couldn't jump to a point he couldn't see well, thus he most often ended up landing on a frail ledge that broke into pebbles. Although they should have triggered rock slides, rewinding time set the frail ledges back in place. He'd nearly gotten stuck at one point when no spot seemed safe to jump to. A careful check of the native magic was enough to locate an invisible ledge on a crumbling slope that let him get to the next real flat area.

And that was where he found the barrier's origin. On a surprisingly sturdy ledge with a wide expanse of the landscape in view, there was a tall cave entrance that was covered in ancient magic. It filled the entrance like a vast hall to infinity, light and dark racing inward. When he brought his hand up, runic designs lit up in racing colors; the door was flat instead of infinite. Seven circles inscribed with magical script and symbols proved that this was the work of seven individuals. Nevyn could interpret some of the meaning off-hand, but completely solving it would take more time than he had.

Taking out his tablet, he adjusted the camera settings until he could photograph the rune circles. Then he tried touching one. Magical forms raced around his senses, in the dream state that many spells operated on. He could smell hickory smoke, feel a sensation he couldn't quite describe. However, the forms didn't make immediate sense. This was a riddle lock and he had no context to form a key spell or make a solution. But he had the key to the library now. He dismissed the lock and walked into the barrier.

Magic poured around him like rain, fire, dust, wind, smoke, and more, all shifting traces of its construction. It spilled away gently before him only to seal up firmly behind him. Once he got through, Nevyn was in an enclosed hall filled with the shifting light. The walls and floor had once been smoothed flat, but now sported long cracks. An arch supported by classic pillars led further in. Just to see, he turned around and pressed his hands against the barrier. It was as solid as concrete. Interestingly, the runic circles appeared again. So it could be undone from the inside if the locks were solved. None of the circles were broken or frayed; the magic was not decayed.

He decided to go into the next hall to cast the tracking magic. That way, the barrier wouldn't interfere. He clasped his hands together and thought of the names of the lost children. Chara. Cora. Miguel. Heath. Elise. Becca. Tony. Hopefully, their names were enough. He cast the tracking spell, tracing the forms with his fingers in the air.

Eight arrows appeared in front of him, each a different color. Interestingly, six of the arrows were bright and short, indicating the same close location. The red one was long, pointing downward and elsewhere, while the white arrow was freaking out with indecision. Since the white one would be distracting, he dismissed it. He touched the shorter ones to learn that he was in a castle. The long one suggested one was off somewhere in a place of ruins. This could be good... or really bad.

After getting through a dark hall, he entered another arched doorway and was shocked to see a room full of sunlight and flowers. A large horned throne sat near the center of the bright golden flowers; another throne covered in a large white sheet was sitting to his left against the wall. Magic was dense here, filled with a soothing sense of nature. It was almost enough to reach through his soul. Going to kneel at the edge of the garden, he touched the stem of one flower and turned the blossom about. This wasn't just a magical flower, it was a flower considered sacred by his kind.

It was interesting, but not immediately helpful. Thankfully, the sacred flowers didn't fill the room and he could safely walk around them on the low vines that filled up the rest of the space. The arrows led him to a hall to the left and down a long coiling staircase. Some of the steps had cracks in them. Outside of the throne room, there was a deep air of melancholy that filled this space with a grayness. His eyes could see color, but his mind felt the unhappiness and hopelessness that someone who lived here felt. Was this a prison? Because that would explain it.

Except as he got closer, more worrisome patterns appeared in the magic of this place. He hurried down the last few steps and came into another room. “Oh no.”

It was a morgue. Seven black coffins were entombed here; six arrows were pointing at six different coffins. Checking them over, he found names inscribed on the lids. The children he was supposed to bring home were dead. From the looks of things, they'd been dead for some time. The most recent was from over fifty years ago; the sole empty coffin belonged to Chara, who had disappeared a hundred years ago. He couldn't rewind time back to before he'd been born. Actually, he couldn't go back to before a point when he'd been eight.

He started to wonder if he really was impossible to redeem when he realized that the arrows shouldn't have lit up at all. Scanning the area, he located six human souls in the room, held captive in glass containers at the head of each coffin. He didn't think they'd have the strength to pass the barrier on their own, meaning that he would have to break it in order to bring the souls home. Would that be sufficient?

Whether it was or not, it was a plan. He headed back upstairs, tossing around the idea of following the red arrow to where its soul was. It could be good to know. Still, the mountain was going to collapse. The end had always come this way after a certain loop: he'd get the airplane note and in the next few hours, Mt. Ebott would collapse in on itself and crush all the monsters underneath it. What few survived would not survive the on-coming apocalyptic event. Not even the world would survive that. And he didn't want to last that long again. He didn't have much left to sacrifice before it got what it really wanted.

Being in the collapse might help avoid that. He went down another staircase to come to another brightly lit room, one that seemed to be golden... his heart stopped for a second. He had nightmares about this room, a shining gaze and desperately vengeful presence. To soothe his nerves, he scanned the magic within the room. Nobody here. Still, he crossed the hall quickly, trying to stave off the memories as they pressed in.

* * *

 

Asgore's song, though modestly sung, filled the room with a frail tint of cheer. Now, he had a quartet of flowers to arrange in this vase. Two of them had small blooms like large coins, but they were cute that way. The other two were larger than he normally saw, enough that he could hide his hand under one of them. With the sizes, a balanced look would be best. Set them up so the small and large pairs crossed stems, using that to secure them in place... there. The two larger ones were protecting the small ones, much like...

Or maybe he shouldn't use this arrangement. But now that he'd put them together, it didn't feel right to take them apart. It shouldn't matter, they're just flowers, and yet, reminders. Yes, no? He should decide soon, since Undyne was coming over. They were going to discuss if she should come back on duty, so he needed a clear head to listen to her. See if she had a clear head and the will to return. He understood that kind of pain.

On hearing footsteps, he decided the arrangement would have to stay for now and walked out of the little alcove above the stairs. But wait... those were shoes. Few monsters wore shoes. And they were coming up the stairs instead of to the front door. That wasn't Undyne. Who was it to be coming from that direction?

Seeing the robed figure approach and feeling a sharp chill radiating from them triggered memories from long long ago. The close fit of the torso and sleeves, the sweeping looseness of the hood and lower hem, the tight knit patterns of fabric enchantments: this was the armor of a human wizard. This one chose black cloth with gold trim, including a gold emblem with the Delta Rune on their left chest. That meant this was a highly powerful wizard. Underneath their hood, shadows covered most of their face but not the bright red glow of their eyes. Some kind of enchanted rosary was attached on their neck with a choker band, but he couldn't identify that as readily as the meaning of the emblem.

This was exactly the kind of human one did not want to see on a battlefield, especially not with the LOVE 25 that could be discovered from a quick scan of his soul.

“Oh, hello,” he said, feeling like he'd just met his doom. At least he should be polite. “I'm King Asgore Dreemurr. Who are you?”

“I don't have a name,” he said, flat in tone as if he couldn't care less. “I'm here for the children.”

“Ah, yes.” This was it, then. Maybe he should take this out of this part of the castle, lock the door so as not to endanger Undyne (as excellent as she was in battle, he wasn't sure if even she could handle a human wizard like this one). “If you've come to challenge me on that,”

The nameless human was quick to interrupt with, “No. Where's the Ruins?”

The way those intense eyes drove right through him, Asgore felt further unsettled. “They're at the far end of these caverns, a long journey from here. Why do you ask?”

Still blunt, he answered, “One of the coffins is empty, without even a soul. My tracker indicates I'll find Chara there.”

So she had run that far to get away from him. His heart sank further. Perhaps he wouldn't be helping Undyne much today after all. Or any time soon. “Ah, well, it has been a long time since Chara...” he felt sick with sadness and hoped that the human would challenge him.

“I know,” he said. “My tracker wouldn't activate unless the person's soul is lingering. They're there. Now, how much do you know about how the barrier works?”

Chara's soul was still lingering? Why? Before Asgore could put that to words, the human jumped subjects to something he knew less about. “Not all that much.”

With a slight shift of tone, he was clearly disappointed. “I see. Do any monsters study the barrier currently?”

There had been plenty who tried. “Currently? The only one who's done a significant amount of research was my Royal Scientist, Dr. Alphys.”

“And where would I find her?” he asked. Although if he could use tracking magic to identify Chara's grave without ever hearing of the place before, surely he could track anyone he knew the name of.

Except he wouldn't find her. “She died about a year ago.”

The human grumbled at that, thankfully pulling his piercing gaze away from Asgore and to his hand. He summoned up a tarnished silver sphere that occasionally looked like a clock. “Hmph, a range of three years for her death. That's going to be an obstacle.”

“Where did you get a chronograph like that?” Asgore asked. Something like that could not be summoned up at whim, and was of such limited use in normal life that few people would even try.

That made the human look back up into his eyes. Studying him. Lightly tossing the chronograph, he dismissed it. “It's embedded in my body.”

Then the door opened up behind him. Undyne looked right to the nameless human with suspicion. “Who're you?” she demanded.

Strangely, the human recognized her. A sharp intake of breath, a shift of posture. Casting a spell. “I don't have time for pleasantries,” he said, then burst past them with an incredible speed, enough to cause the door to slam out into the wall and break a hinge.

“Hey, get back here human!” Undyne shouted, using her own Fleetfoot enchantment to chase after him.

“Undyne!” Asgore called out. But it was too late. Sighing, he got out his phone to message the rest of the royal guard and anyone else who might muster some effort. It wouldn't be enough, but he didn't want them caught off guard.

'Warning- a human male has entered our kingdom directly from the barrier's origin. Wearing a black cloak with gold trim, Delta rune on left torso, LOVE 25. Also a powerful wizard, only engage with extreme caution. Advise civilians in the whole underground to stay indoors for now, try to incapacitate before confronting.'

Not long after, he got a call from Undyne. “That freak just jumped straight into the ventilation chimney down to Hotland! Probably squashed himself or fell in the lava.”

“I wouldn't count on his death,” Asgore replied. “He was interested in the Ruins, so you might be able to cut him off in Snowdin or at the door in the forest.”

“Well good, if he survived, we can trap him there since nobody can get in the door.”

“Don't count on that either. And check my message; this individual is extremely dangerous and shouldn't be taken on recklessly.”

“Then what were you doing talking to him? I heard you both and didn't recognize him, that's why I came right in.”

Maybe if he could keep her on the phone long enough, she wouldn't have the time to reach the Ruins before the human got there. “I had to. We crossed eyes and I knew he could kill me in an instant; he can do the same to you.”

* * *

 

Fleetfoot was not recommended for enclosed passages. Especially not a winding uneven cavern where the lighting was unreliable. Following his tracker required dozens of rewinds to keep himself from staying a blood spatter on the wall. But Nevyn didn't know where exactly he was going or how much time he had before the mountain collapsed. He wanted to get to the last grave to make certain of it.

Once past Waterfall, he ended up in a huge cavern that housed an entire forest. Snowdin, if he recalled correctly. Names and specifics often got lost in all the memories he had, but he knew this was now an open run to the Ruins. While the town itself wasn't far in, that gave him a shed and then a house to leap up to in order to cross across roofs and treetops again. It was almost a straight shot too, with a road through the forest right to the door.

The door was obvious, a massive gray structure sitting on a wall in the cave. He dropped down well before it in order to have the space to slow down safely, passing by a fish lady with bold red hair. How did she get here ahead of him? He'd been surprised enough to realize she too knew Fleetfoot, but did she teleport or did the monsters have methods of quick travel between major areas? No matter, he just needed to keep from fighting her. Memories of glowing spears big and small tried to grab his attention.

“Hold it, human!” Undyne said, summoning one of her spears. “You've no right to invade our...”

She could carry on for quite some time, so he turned to focus on the door. There were enchantments keeping it locked, but mostly around the handles carved into the metal. Lifting his left hand, he focused his thoughts on metal-cutting fire.

Behind him, there was a stomp and growl. “Turn around while I'm challenging you! I want to see what kind of power you humans really have.”

The shriek of stressed metal interrupted her. The hinges buckled under the pull of his telekinesis once the fire weakened them enough. Shift the door slightly to make sure it was fully loose. Then, sweep his hand back to hurl the door over Undyne's head to crash into the snowy road behind them. The way into the Ruins was opened. Still, he turned back in order to look at her. “Does that satisfy your curiosity?” he said, casting Fleetfoot against so he could rush the rest of the way.

Past a long hallway of many shades of violet, he darted up some stairs and briefly wondered if he'd somehow come up to the castle again. This looked exactly like where he'd spoken to Asgore just now. Never mind that. He rammed his way through the closed door before someone called out to him. This was another area of winding passages, even smaller than what had been in Waterfall. While there were some puzzles, there were no more doors and nothing that Fleetfoot couldn't just dart over.

When the tracking arrow got bright red, he slowed down to a brisk walk within a dark passage broken up by a single ring of sunlight. Something about this place seemed familiar. Maybe he hadn't come down this way often, with nothing as striking in his memory as the golden hall and the bridges of Waterfall. But the memories were there, lurking about in the shadows of his mind. A massive threat from a tiny being, soft words, inexplicable feelings like the twist of a knife to a new reality. Golden flowers.

He walked through a doorway and turned to see a small room with a domed ceiling, a greater fragment of sunlight falling upon golden flowers.

He gripped a fist near his chest. “Wait... this is your grave, isn't it?”

Although he considered leaving right away, he ended up walking slowly towards the patch of flowers. The sunlight changed shape as he got closer, forming a child wearing a striped shirt and jeans. They were young enough that it was difficult to tell their gender, but old enough that it shouldn't have been that way for long. Opening charming eyes, they smiled sweetly and appeared innocent. Then dark shadows burst out of the child's heart, forming a familiar shadowy being. For a brief moment, the child's eyes were afraid.

His mind snapped to work immediately, flipping through memories of old tomes that he had studied. Shadows from the heart, negative emotions, the young age of the child, the form and abilities of this shadow, the way it enveloped the child. A ghost that had died a painful death with strong negativity could warp into a great many forms. This one had their pain and negative emotions overwhelm them until it became its own creature, a remnant. To deal with a remnant, it was best to separate it from its source, purifying and pacifying the ghost. The remnant would then be weakened next time it was encountered, easier to dispatch.

“Why have you betrayed me, Nevyn?” the remnant asked in a hoarse voice, expanding itself to look down on him. “You showed me the importance of power, you erased all fear in me. Why do you only come back now? Why do you sacrifice your earned power for an empty ideal?”

“I made many terrible mistakes showing you such things,” he replied. “I will redeem myself. I will get my name and soul back from you.”

“You could always give me your power if you no longer want it,” the remnant replied, reaching out towards him with impossibly long fingers.

Without hesitating, he brushed the hand aside. “No. I will never give that to you. But I finally have a name to put to your old self. Chara!”

The remnant flinched so hard that it whipped away from him, screeching indignantly. At the same time, its lower half unraveled, revealing the child within. “What are you doing?!” the child screamed along with the remnant.

The whole cavern shuddered; the collapse was beginning. There wasn't time to purify the child, not that he could do such a thing. However, he knew who could. He knew who would. Blasting the remnant away with fire, he ran forward and grabbed Chara. They screamed again, balling up their fists and closing their eyes. After a quick check that they were separated from the remnant, he connected his natural chronograph to the ghost.

Then it was time to rewind, as far back as he could go.


	2. The Beginning

Loop 107

Chara was still screaming, hitting him ineffectually with small ghost fists. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by smoldering rubble. All around him past the reach of his fingertips, there was ruin. But, not right around him. This space was untouched save for candles marking a magical seal underneath him. Not his own seal. It belonged to the priest. A trio of bells were chiming just out of his sight.

Sighing, he tried to relax. He always had to redo this part when beginning a new loop. And he couldn't do a thing to prevent this. His chronograph would no longer allow him back past the moment that the seal trapped him here. At least this time, there would be another benefit. The remnant stirred within his heart, not yet realizing that its old self was separated from it still.

“Mother Earth, take pity on these poor children before you,” the priest chanted, adjusting quickly to a ghost being here too. “Let us separate them from the unnatural hatred and resentment that clouds the sight of their souls.”

The priest went on with the chant; the seal flared with power, reaching through them to purify them. Having gone through this before, he bit his tongue lightly to keep from crying out in pain. The holy power of the mother goddess seared the corruption in his soul. It really wasn't that bad, he told himself. After all, he'd gone through this with a much higher corruption and that had been hellish. The remnant didn't even flail anymore. Instead, it simply accepted the casting out and returned to Chara's grave.

As for Chara, they stopped screaming in confused rage and started wailing in confused pain. He shouldn't be callous, knowing how this felt. He reached out to the ghost. “Hang tight,” he whispered, the words jarring as the exorcism continued. “Y-you're good, right? This'll just, clear things up.”

It didn't take long for them to slump over, their spirit lying against his chest. “Azzy, Azzy,” they murmured wearily. They almost looked normal: hazel eyes, long chestnut brown hair, and pale skin.

“I'll get you home, somehow.”

* * *

 

Taking care of ghosts and possessions was a part of the responsibility of being a priest. All humans could produce a ghost upon death if not properly interred and possession was a standard work hazard for wizards. Still, this case was unusual in many ways. The ghost was a twelve year old child that had been disconnected from their remnant; they curled away in a corner warily, watching. And the possession victim was an eight year old boy with a two hundred and fifty percent corruption rating, causing his cold emotionless gaze to have a red glow.

“I'm placing a Penance Rosary on you,” the priest explained, setting the beaded choker around the boy's neck. “I'll explain its functions later.”

“Okay,” the boy said, eerily calm. He didn't even flinch when the rosary sealed shut.

Corruption did rise in the case of demonic possession, but this much in a child? He wouldn't believe it if he wasn't seeing it right here. Taking up a clipboard, he started in on the registration form. “Do you have your name?”

“No,” he said after a moment. “It was stolen from me; I've been using Nevyn instead.”

After making a note that the name had been stolen, he checked against school records to find that he was right. He couldn't grasp the child's name while in the same room as him. “Very well, Nevyn. How old are you?”

“What timeframe do you want?” he asked, bringing up a hand and summoning... was that a chronograph? “8, but realistically I'm 577 years old.”

“May I look into that chronograph for proof?” he asked.

“Fine, but I can't let it go,” he said, holding his hand out. According to the magical artifact, he was indeed that old. It was embedded right in his body too, an incorporeal device that would have appeared in him right around birth.

As the priest thought that, he wondered how exactly he knew this. Another thought made the answer clear. “You must have natural powers over time.”

He nodded, dismissing the chronograph. “I go forward normally, but I can go back almost freely. Your exorcism seal keeps me from going any further back than today.”

“And who's this ghost with you?”

“That's Chara, one of the seven children who disappeared up Mt. Ebott in the past century,” Nevyn said, glancing over at the ghost. “I don't know much more about this one, but I've been tasked with returning those seven children back home. Only they're all dead and this is the best I can do.”

The name was familiar. “Ah, it shouldn't be hard to locate their old home. What exactly started all this?”

“A deal with a devil gone very bad,” he said, still monotonous and calm.

While the priest knew why Nevyn could not emote, it didn't make interviewing him any less unnerving.

* * *

 

Loop 106 Notes

Started LOVE 28, ended LOVE 25 at winter 18. Finally making progress again.

Fostered by Steelblaze family: avoid this happening again, they treat me with too much caution and fear. And their house is full of doors.

Met with Master Joachim Sunherald and got him to agree to apprenticeship. He knows a key to the Master's Study. -Got the key spell. Trained in self-discipline again, seems to be working this time. -Joachim suggested that I need to work on socializing more, I promised I'd try to make friends each loop.

Studied stories of the missing children, see relevant files. Divining suggests they all entered through the sinkhole cave at the foot of the mountain that drops down into the underground. -leads to Chara's grave at the end of the Ruins. Not as deep as it looks, survivable if fallen in through the lowest part of sinkhole, nearby vines could help to get down safely. Ground appears unsteady. That area of the underground may collapse well before the rest of the mountain goes, do not enter late in a loop.

-All seven of the missing children are dead. Maybe an eighth child around based on tracker? Six of their souls are held captive in Asgore's castle, they must have some plan for them. Research what monsters can do with human souls. Mystery eighth soul was a white arrow that couldn't pin down the target, need soul's name, probably a child because I was thinking of them as the lost children. Research other missing children. Chara's grave is at the end of the Ruins, their red soul followed me into loop 107. Chara is the original self of the spirit that got my soul and name. Said spirit is almost certainly a remnant.

-New section to airplane note from underground (still presuming it's Sans). He knows I haven't been to the underground in a number of loops. Does not seem as hostile or challenging as usual, more lazily written. Could be good, don't want to fight that guy again.

-Asgore says the monster who knows the most about the barrier would be Dr. Alphys. She was dead. Chronograph suggests an intentional death in a range of over three years, spring 15 to autumn 18. Would be preferable to meet up with her somehow. Don't know how much she can add, but could be valuable resource.

-Undyne knows Fleetfoot, careful of this any time engaging her in open areas or on capitol's rooftops.

 

Loop 107 notes

Started LOVE 25. -Not enough degrading to count as progress by winter 10

Remnant Chara still has hold on my name and soul. -Ghost Chara is not happy, has a serious hatred of humans. Have not managed to talk with them much.

-Fostered by Andersen family. Improvement over Steelblazes, but not by much. Mr. Andersen confiscated my tablet for two years, had to make notes in notebook and hide that among others. Finally got it back provided I agreed to signal tracking, forbidden zones, and heavy internet filters. At least it's not file filters as my early loop notes would be censored for violence and swearing.

-And two years without my own library card is equally frustrating. Joachim's self-discipline methods coming in handy. Mrs. Andersen finally said I can visit library on my own on tenth birthday, provided I join one of the children's clubs there as I tested out of school and can't join their clubs. I should to see if socialization does help.

* * *

 

Shrill unnatural sounds going right through her brain, like nothing she'd ever heard before. Painfully bright sparks leading a previously unmovable door into being ripped right out of its frame. A wake of cool air shifting her hair as said door went hurtling right over her head… who could be that powerful? That door had not budged for centuries!

The creature turned slightly towards her. Human? Possibly, she wasn't sure. She remembered her first look at it, burning red eyes under a hood's shadow and unholy marks on what little pale skin showed. Now, its eyes turned their intensity at her. “Does that satisfy your curiosity?” It spoke without pride or threat. Or any emotions. Just a deep steady one-note beat.

Elsewhen, a vicious grin spread across the creature's dark green face. Its white eyes looked at her like a precious figurine it could not wait to shatter into a thousand pieces. It did not speak, but sometimes it gave a reedy laugh at things that made no sense to laugh at. Like a kid trying to stand up in bravery but unable to do anything out of terror. Like the glint of dust in the cool glow of the marsh mushrooms.

She would not be afraid. She could not be afraid. Right now, she could only think of a single purpose: destroy this creature before it killed any more. Her soul was filled with an intense drive, pushing her magic beyond what she could ever do before.

And she died. And she died. And she died. Again again again, death. Dust. Nothing.

Undyne jolted up, finding herself in the dark, in bed. What was that about? She put her hands over her face, making sure that she was awake. She had dreams like this sometimes, a grand battle against some undefinable creature. Perhaps a human? But it didn't look like the humans in Alphys' history books, more like a demon creature. Unlike most of her dreams of grand battles, this particular set ended horribly. They were nightmares.

Fortunately, the dream was fading fast from her mind. Did it mean anything? Sometimes dreams that repeated themselves did. But she didn't like talking about this particular nightmare. She was Undyne, head of the Royal Guard! She would not be afraid, especially not of a dream. Perhaps some tea would help to calm down and get back to sleep.

She got some chamomile tea, but the time it took to brew and sip let her wake up more. Now what? It'd been quiet lately, so today's patrol would just be a walk around Waterfall and some questions to make sure it really was quiet. She didn't have any plans. Without thinking on it much, she picked up her phone and wondered. She could spend some time practicing before going out. Or maybe, was Alphys doing anything? Maybe sleeping. She dialed the number anyhow.

And she picked up after only three rings. “H-hi, Undyne?”

Oh, now what? “Hey Alphys! How's the weather?”

“Uh, you know, um, the usual. Hot around here, and, uh… what are you doing up at this hour?”

Undyne leaned back in her chair. “Nothing really. Woke up from some really weird dream.”

“A dream? What about?” She was concerned, not as shaky as she usually was over the phone.

“Can't remember now,” she admitted. “I just know it was weird and woke me right up. What are you doing up at this hour?”

And she went back to being nervous. “Oh, um, er, well j-just some work, you know, lost track of time? How to, um, well it's really complicated, hard to explain really.”

“You're working all the time, you ought to take a break before the stress gets to you,” Undyne said. Because Alphys did not need a lot of stress going on. “Hey, you wanna hang out somewhere? Just not in Hotland unless you've got somewhere air-conditioned because that heat sucks.”

“Oh, uh, s-sure, I guess I could save my progress and hang out for a bit.”

Undyne forgot about the dream by the time Alphys asked her for more details, at least until she had the dream again several weeks later.

* * *

 

“Wipe the mucky snow off your boots, Nevyn,” Mrs. Andersen said as they walked into the Hearthstone Library. She was careful to set their umbrellas together in the rack.

“Got it,” he said, although she'd insisted on such action so often that it was a habit now when there was any precipitation.

She looked around the lobby area, eying the modest statue of Hestia with some skepticism. “Always heard this place was for literary snobs and scholars, but doesn't seem too bad. Are you sure you don't want the library closer to our home?”

Touching the first few beads on his choker, Nevyn held back on snapping that he was a scholar and this was the best library in Ebott City to get resources for his research. “I like this one,” he answered.

“Well, all right,” she said, nudging him over towards the front desk as if he couldn't tell where to go. “Excuse me, I wanted to get a library card for my foster son here.”

The librarian on duty nodded. “Of course, are you looking for a general card?”

“Don't you have a separate card for children?” she asked.

“No, we'll just mark it as a youth card until he's thirteen, then a teen until eighteen.”

“May I get a card that allows for access to magical resources?” Nevyn said, briefly cursing his inability to see over this counter.

“You'll need to be tested for knowledge on magic books for that,” the librarian said.

“What would that get you?” Mrs. Andersen asked in worry.

“Access to the enchanted books, for one,” he said. As well as access to the Master's Study, which was where he really needed to be. That was the only place that he knew for certain had books on the barrier from the time that it had been erected.

“Enchanted books can't be taken out of the library by a child, but he can certainly read them in here,” the librarian said. “We have safety measures in place to prevent trouble from such books.” Nevyn silently thanked her for saying that.

“Well, all right,” Mrs. Andersen said. “Can't be much trouble if you can't bring them home. Although I don't know where we'd go to test your magical knowledge.”

“We can handle that here,” the librarian said, now passing over a tablet that held the library card registration form. “In fact, I’m pretty sure we've got some masters in today; I’ll send a message up to ask if one of them is willing to test him. How long are you going to be here?”

“I have to be at work shortly, but he's going to be staying here today,” she said, taking the tablet and almost writing in the form.

“Oh, he should fill it out because the tablet will authenticate to that, not just the signature.” The librarian nudged it away from her

“You're letting a child do an awful lot,” she said, but she did hand it to him.

“I tested out of school, Mrs. Andersen, I can handle this,” Nevyn said, taking it over to a chair nearby to fill out.

“We figure if they want a library card, they should know enough about writing to fill out a simple form,” the librarian said with a smile.

Even with that said, Mrs. Andersen hovered over him to make sure there wasn't anything potentially improper in the form. She needlessly reminded him of how to spell her name as his guardian, the street they lived on, and even the city name itself. Then he had to explain to her (and wait for her to get confirmation from the librarian) that the advisory stating that enchanted books could be dangerous was a standard legal precaution, but realistically the majority of such books could be safely handled with politeness and respect. Any that were truly dangerous would require a librarian's help for anyone to get access to.

Thankfully, she had to get going to work by the time Nevyn went to hand over the registration. “Most of this library is organized by the university classifications, do you know about that?” the librarian asked.

“Yes, m'am,” he said.

“Good, well you're always free to ask here at the main desk for help; there's some other librarian desks on other floors as well.” She set the tablet into a docking station to transfer to registration. “And I did get one of the magic masters to agree to give you a quick test here. He'll be down in about ten minutes, we'll hold off on giving you your card until that's done.”

“Okay, thank you,” he said. “You had clubs here, right? Is there a posting of any recruiting for new members?”

She nodded and pointed out an electronic board nearby. “Yes, go use that screen to get to the club directory; one of the options is for openings and recruitment.”

In the directory, he found that most of the children's clubs were actually part of a nearby school complex. However, they did note that some clubs were accepting children outside the school body as long as they had a Hearthstone Library card. That was a plus as it gave him lots of options. He skimmed over the science, technology, and magic clubs, but declined them because his over five hundred years of experience would give him an unfair advantage with his supposed age group. Perhaps a reading club? There were some that were connected to just the library.

Then he found something he wouldn't have considered if he hadn't spotted it: the Sunbeam Optimists Magical Cooking and Baking Club. That seemed weirdly specialized, but it was a part of the school's clubs and had a good many years behind it. Because monsters only ate magical foods, he was familiar with magical cooking even if he hadn't done much of it himself. It'd be a club where his experience wouldn't be much of a factor. Besides, they were optimists. That had to be good.

Like the other school clubs, they were looking for new members for the spring semester. That made their next meeting... a week away. Nevyn jotted down the name and date on his tablet, then double-checked to make sure that the school wasn't in his forbidden zone as that was where they were meeting. Once he got his library card, he could request a joining pass for a non-student.

“Nevyn?” an old man said, coming over to him with a cane.

His body went tense as he turned to this familiar face. “M-master Joachim?”

He smiled. “Ah you know me then. Surprising, wouldn't think I'd be known by a child.” Then he took a second look and rubbed his chin. “Although, you seem familiar to me. Like I knew your voice before you spoke.”

He couldn't remember. But, sometimes things slipped through when he rewound time. “It's a difficult thing to explain,” Nevyn said.

“At any rate, you wanted access to this library's magical resources?” Joachim asked. “Can't give you a full on ranking test on the spur of the moment, but we can see if you know enough about magic to handle such access. Come on, we'll need to us a separate room just in case.”

“Yes sir,” he said, following him. There was a twinge of hurt knowing that he'd have to start all over again to reconnect with Joachim. At the same time, was that a bit of happiness at having the faint recognition? It was hard to tell with much of his emotions repressed behind another being having claim to his soul.

“What do you want the magical access for?” he asked as they entered an elevator.

Nevyn felt a quiet fear as he walked in. The door would shut; he did not like being closed in. Still, it wouldn't last long. Focusing on the conversation instead of the shutting door, he answered, “To get into the Master's Study so I can study the barrier that seals monsters underground.”

Joachim raised his bushy eyebrows at that. “Really now? This won't get you access to the study, you know.”

“I do,” he said, bringing up the key spell on his tablet to show him. “I can get in with this, but I need the library card with magical access to get to that floor on my own.”

At first, he was skeptical. As he realized the key was authentic, he looked down at him curiously. “Hmm, who would give such a key to a child your age?”

“You did,” he replied. “When I was older. It's a long complicated story.”

When Nevyn aced the magical test without effort, Joachim started to believe him again. He even offered to give him an official ranking test in a couple of days. This time, it got him recognized as a Second Rank Wizard with a special asset of being able to cast high magic Delta Rune spells. Only one more rank until he could be recognized as a master, although he doubted he could manage that while his corruption rating was still over two hundred percent.

* * *

 

The Master's Study was not a place for an amateur. The native magic that accompanied these books extended into the air around them, forcing one to constantly keep their soul on the move to not take damage simply in being here. Words and idea, symbols and phrases, they all glided and bounced around the barriers that kept them contained. Just in sight, he spotted a pair of tomes having an argument over comma usage. Much of the magic stayed between them, but plenty escaped away that he had to weave around.

In the early stages of training, young mages kept their bodies still while learning to manipulate the heart-shaped soul to avoid magic. Those mages wouldn't be able to take a step past the door. Nevyn was wary with his soul since he was wearing an ordinary striped shirt and jeans today, rather than a proper wizard cloak. However, he could walk through and search for the books he needed to find.

He already knew the main tome he had to find: Records, Construction, and Analysis of the Mount Ebott Barrier. It was supposed to have been written by the seven wizards who had sealed the monsters underground, all of their notes on it. If Nevyn's thinking was correct, it would detail the locks on the barrier. That should reveal the context he needed to solve the locks for their keys. If he was really lucky, the wizards would have directly written down the keys. But he doubted he'd be that lucky. The intricacy of the riddle suggested that the creators would rather not give away the answer.

When he located the Barrier tome, it was on the highest shelf of a tall bookcase. And it was huge. If he'd come here as an eight-year-old, it'd be too much to handle. It be rough to handle now that he was ten. He didn't want to call it down with telekinesis until he had a better idea of what the tome was like. After all, a displeased book could react violently and he'd lose access to this study. Nevyn got one of the tall ladders and started climbing.

There was a snoring book halfway up that sent out large waves of magic, which he had to climb as quickly as he could manage to keep from getting stuck just trying to dodge. The hits sent paper cuts across his body as he went past, making him wince. However, it wasn't much, not enough to stop for. Nevyn nearly got there when the word 'Healing' caught his eye on the spine of an old green book. It was an early edition of a vital text about healing magic, with a bit of power and kindness to it.

Stopping there, he traced a finger down the spine of the healing book. “Excuse me, would you please help me?”

There was a flutter of pages, a smell of old paper and glue. The magical paper cuts were quickly soothed away. With the spell done, he had a feeling of hopeful eyes on him.

“Thank you,” Nevyn said, nodding his head. The book was satisfied, then quietly knocked on its neighbor's cover.

Watching magical books interact could be interesting, but he had a goal to complete. He finished up his climb and looked at the ancient tome. Within a fraying brown cloth jacket, a black leather cover was dry and potentially brittle. It was nearly inactive, just a faint glow of magic from the subject it preserved. When he closed his eyes and focused, there was a feeling... sadness? Not feeling useful, not being read. It could only slumber, waiting here, hoping that one day it would be useful.

“The day has come,” Nevyn whispered, opening his eyes back up. There were a lot of old slumbering books up here not being read, so he stroked the tome just as he had the other below. “Records, Construction, and Analysis of the Mount Ebott Barrier. Please teach me, I need to learn from you.”

The tome's spirit stirred. They were not full beings, not like humans or monsters. Rather, they were more like animals with no needs, or robots; the books just desired to be read, to be useful. The tome shifted, dust from waiting way up here being shaken off. Words appeared in Nevyn's imagination, 'Are you the one who will break the barrier?'

“I must break the barrier, I will break it,” he replied.

'The time has finally come!' It pulled itself out of the shelf and nearly fell straight to the ground. Nevyn reflexively caught it with telekinesis, getting a slight headache for the effort. 'Sorry,' the book said, then set itself back on the shelf. 'A lift will come.'

Seconds later, a little robot that was nothing more than a floating platform hovered up to him. He merely had to point to the tome, which had already pulled itself towards the platform. The robot then caught it and kept hold of it as Nevyn descended the ladder. There were ripples of pages and thumping of covers as he got down to where the snoring book was. When the robot lit a red light, he paused until that book's neighbors bopped it back into an awake enough state to stop snoring. That let him safely descend.

Down on the floor, Nevyn asked the robot for a place to study and was brought to an oval cluster of chairs and small tables. In the center, there was an astrological globe that served as a shield generator, blocking out the random bits of magic in the air. He had to pull over a rolling cart that could hold up the huge tome for him the read from. On the cover, there was a copy of the seven seals. Nevyn took a moment to double-check the picture he'd taken last loop. His tablet was connected to his chronograph, allowing information in it to be retained when time was rewound. As the picture matched the cover, he made a note that degradation was unlikely, then opened up the tome to start his study.

Around noon, one of the library's workers paused by him, mystified at a boy studiously reading such a huge tome. “That kind of book would take you years of study to get through,” he commented.

“I'm well aware of that,” Nevyn said, absentmindedly glancing at him. “And I intend to complete such a study, no matter how many years it takes.” Hopefully eight years was enough.

The man shivered at his gaze, as often happened with people who did not expect to run into someone with a high corruption. Usually, they'd get tolerant to it over time. But it was that heavy serious aura that got the library staff to take him seriously when he asked that the Barrier tome was kept somewhere that he could reach it easier so he could continue his study.

* * *

 

Shortly after Nevyn crossed the threshold of the Artemis Academy lobby, a girl who was probably thirteen stopped right in his path. “Hold it there, you villain!” she said, holding her hand out towards him. “You should not transgress against our school property.”

“The word's trespass,” Nevyn said, looking just off to her side.

The mistake wasn't about to stop her. “Whatever! In the name of the Magical Girls for Justice, I'm here to stop you from spreading your evil ways!

That explained it. Shaking his head, he said, “You can't.”

“Is that a challenge?” she dared him. Other students decided to get out of the way.

“No,” Nevyn said, looking at her for a brief few seconds to stop her cold. “It's plain fact. The Magical Girls for Justice cannot act against a person who has yet to do any harm or has not offered a challenge, thus you can't fight me. It's in your charter, I've studied that document carefully. Besides, you're also advised to not challenge a person bearing a corruption level over a hundred percent. If I was here causing trouble, you're better off contacting adult authorities who know how to neutralize someone like me.”

That deflated her intentions some, but she didn't want to give up. “Well, what are you doing here then? You don't look like a student.”

“I'm here to see about joining the Sunbeam Optimists Cooking and Baking Club with my library card,” he told her.

“Uh,” she stared and stammered for a moment. “Th-the Sunbeams?”

He nodded. “It's part of my plan to work my way out of my corruption. Perhaps you stand for justice, but could you give an allowance for redemption?”

“I, I guess that's admirable?” she said, not sure what to do here. “But if you do cause trouble, I will stop you!”

“Very well, can we leave it at that?” Nevyn said, bowing to her.

“O-okay, just this once,” she said, then hurried off. Maybe she was embarrassed, or maybe she didn't believe him. As long as she didn't bother him, he didn't care which it was.

In the school lobby, there was a line of signs up as a directory to the clubs that were open for new members. The Sunbeams had a bright and cute sign among the rest, full of drawings of cupcakes and cookies. Home Economics Room 3, on the fifth floor. 'Come with a sunny smile and we'll welcome you with open arms!'

He couldn't do the smiling part. As he walked down the hall, he gathered his thoughts to do some convincing. There were a set of elevators, but there were also a row of teleport panels that led to various classroom levels throughout the academy tower. He stepped onto the square for the fifth floor and was whisked off to a square ring of classrooms. From the spacing of the doors and a sign nearby, these were mostly larger lab-type classes for art, home economics, and science. The room he wanted was straight ahead down the hall, to his right two doors down.

There was a group of twelve students in there, some still in their school uniform and some not. A couple looked his age or younger, but most were older. Across two walls of this room, there were a number of cooking stations for regular and magical cooking. The whole room was bright and cheery, with silly comics posted on walls and colorful chairs all around. “Oh, hello here!” a girl by the door said, smiling wide at him. “Were you looking to join our club for making magical treats?”

“Yes please,” he said, flicking his fingers to bring out his library card to show her. “I was informed that I could join as long as I had this.”

“Sure thing! Here's the form...” she tilted her head at him, her smile faltering briefly before returning. “Huh, you're kinda serious for an optimist.”

“It takes all kinds,” he said, taking the form and sitting down at a purple desk nearby to fill it out.

And it was all sorts as the group shared introductions. Some of them were noisy energetic optimists, while others were more quiet but still believing in the best. It was nice to be among such positivity, especially when the remnant tried its hardest to get him negative and angry, or when Chara kept being reclusive and sad. The ghost hardly talked to him. Hopefully, this positivity might help them come out of their shell.

When it got around to his turn, he knew his monotonous voice would be a dark spot in a bright space. Still, he didn't hesitate. “I'm called Nevyn, currently working on self-study rather than being in a school. To be frank, I'm affected by a past demonic possession that corrupted my soul well past the limits where it warps your physical and spiritual nature. People once said I was a lost cause and some still do, but I will not give up working to bring my corruption levels down, no matter what I must do. If that's not optimism, I don't know what is.”

Some of the older ones laughed, trying to brush away anxiety most likely. “That's true, you've got to believe in yourself,” a boy said.

He nodded. “Right, so I know I'm strange and kind of scary, but I believe this is exactly where I need to be to get back to normal.”

“Well everyone deserves a chance to be good, so we hope this works out for you,” the club leader said with warm hope.

They were various degrees of unnerved by his presence that first meeting, but they were the sort that wanted to help others. Make others happy. And, he needed to learn to be that way again.


	3. Energy Pancake Tennis

The first Sunbeam club leader he attended with took a personal interest in him, often lending him books on how to be positive, both within himself and as a presence among others. “There's no arguing that your technique is great and your magic is top-notch,” she said one day when she tried a sugar cookie he'd made. “But your results are always bland, little to no heart at all in them.”

“My soul is repressed right now,” Nevyn told her.

“You should try singing while you work,” one of the other girls said, arranging a group of pretty sugar cookies she'd made on a plate for a picture. “That always helps me put my heart into my work.”

“I've not sung in a very long time,” he said.

But at the next meeting, they insisted that he try singing. Nevyn felt self-conscious about it. As he tried to think of a song, he felt a great weight in his soul from the corruption, trying to crush out that expression. That made it hard to focus on today's recipe. Which was embarrassing since it was a simple milkshake. The club leader said that it was so they did the whole process of producing good magical food: create the ingredients from raw magic, make sure they had physicality, blend them together as you would a real milkshake to convince the magic that it was a real milkshake, and that was it. Some of the others were having trouble with the first step; he had trouble trying to sing to put heart into his work.

A couple of the girls nearby were encouraging him. “Well if you can't think of anything, just try singing along with us,” a girl his apparent age said before she started singing. She was nice, albeit sensitive because she had cat ears and a tail for some reason. “Chop and cook, fry and bake, life's so fun with treats to make!”

He had the ingredients made, measured into the blender. Putting the lid on, he tried to copy her. There seemed to be a pressure in his chest. Taking a couple deep breaths to be rid of it, he tried to sing, “Ch-chop and cook...” he was still monotone. Couldn't he try to make notes? “Fry...” okay, that sounded weird, “and bake...” think about making a good milkshake. He could do this, he could convince the magic. “Life's so fun,” a bubble of something came up in his mind, fighting against the powerful corruption, “with treats to...”

As soon as he hit the start button, the milkshake exploded. The lid shot straight up and hit the ceiling, falling aside cracked and bent. The blackberry milkshake had everything in a ten foot radius, even the ceiling, splattered in a purple goop. As the others squealed and shrieked, he quickly shut the blender off. Hadn't he secured the lid? He licked a bit from near his lips.

It was a surprise, almost as much as the shake explosion. Normally he didn't notice the taste of things. He remembered once having a sense of taste, but now he didn't care what he was eating. This had a taste like suddenly seeing in color, creamy and sweet with a bit of a tang.

In the quiet of the surprise, Nevyn said, “Well, I suppose if you're going to mess up, might as well make it tasty and spectacular.”

His clubmates laughed and helped him clean the mess up.

A desire to sing and enjoy things again... LOVE 25 > LOVE 24

* * *

When he finally got a location of Chara's old home address, it was in the area that Mr. Andersen didn't want him to be going in alone. Nevyn had to wait until his foster father agreed to take him to the area one afternoon. After catching a ride on the light-rail train, they rented a spherical hover car to get there. “This is a bad neighborhood, so I don't want to be hanging around here long.”

“All right,” Nevyn said, watching the buildings go by through the curved windows. It was mostly apartment buildings and small businesses, like a laundromat with a dingy exterior and an abandoned vehicle power station. There wasn't even a bit of stored magical electricity in the station. Was this the same as what Chara knew? They'd disappeared close to a hundred years ago and some of these places looked that old. On the other hand, his old neighborhood looked much the same except that his house had been replaced. That area had only seen four years to everyone else's eyes.

They pulled up to the curb in front of a sad-looking old house with a battered for sale sign in the weedy yard. The minty green paint was flaking off, leaving many bare wooden spots. While there was a porch, the weathered pillars and slanting roof suggested it was not safe to go there. One of the windows up front was cracked badly; all of them were murky with dirt. It was the most dilapidated house on this street of dilapidated houses.

“Somebody ought to buy up this whole street and tear it all up to start again,” Mr. Andersen said with a snobby air. “No good can come out of a neighborhood like this; filth and corruption will only perpetuate itself.”

“Excuse me?” Nevyn said, giving him a hard look.

“I'm not talking about you,” he said hastily, shifting his shirt cuff like he often did when nervous. “Just, a place like this, it stains the whole city.”

At a thought that he was a stuck-up bastard hiding behind a pretentious facade that should be broken with a punch to the face, Nevyn touched his rosary and went through the prayer in his thoughts. “This shouldn't take long,” he said once he calmed down, leaving the car.

“Don't go far,” Mr. Andersen warned him, staying in.

There was corruption in this neighborhood, Nevyn noticed. It was trying to hide, but he could feel it through his own. Staying out where it couldn't reach him, he clasped the rosary. “Chara? This is your home, right?”

He felt Chara stir in his soul. In a blink, Nevyn was looking at a minty green house in better shape, a yard taken care of. But there was something ominous within the house, something he couldn't figure out. Chara appeared on the unbroken sidewalk, surrounded by chalk drawings that looked like some of their past battles. Only, the monsters spilled blood along with turning to dust and the faces didn't look right.

“No, no, this is a bad place, very bad place,” Chara said, grabbing their brown hair and twisting it.

“You lived here,” Nevyn said. When they glowered at the ground in response, he added, “What do you remember?”

“Just because you live somewhere doesn't make it home,” they said. “Just because you're all different doesn't mean you can't be a family, just because you're the same doesn't mean you are family. They should be free, not you. I know, I don't remember, I know. I don't matter. If I go away, everyone will be happy. It worked before. But why, why? Bro, why you too?” The ghost sniffled, covering their eyes. “Not you too.”

No distinct memories, but strong emotions. Seeing that, it was surprising that this ghost only formed a remnant. There were much worse things… then again, given the remnant owned his soul, this was pretty bad. “If this isn't your home,” he started to say.

“I hate it!” they shouted, throwing their hands down and glaring at the house. “I hate you all! You should go away!” They screamed with a rage that turned even Nevyn's blood cold.

A deafening boom knocked Nevyn back into the car and killed him. When he tried to push time back, something pushed against him, taking far more energy than usual for him to undo the death. Bracing himself barely kept the explosion from killing him again. His sight didn't seem right until he realized that yes, the house in front of him was now completely enveloped in flames. In his soul, Chara was still screaming and storming. Before he could get his bearings, another house nearby blew up. He scrambled back into the car in spite of his pain and slammed the door shut. “Did not expect that.”

“What did you do?” Mr. Andersen said, split between being afraid and scolding.

“It wasn't me, it was Chara,” Nevyn said, then passed out.

A couple hours later, he woke up in the hospital under guard. The police weren't sure if they should believe him either, so they had put him under hypnosis once he was stable. When he came out of it, it seemed the smoldering chair and fire alarm had convinced them that it was the ghost he was partially possessed by. They'd put a new enchantment on his rosary in an attempt to keep Chara from lashing out like that.

One of the officers came to visit the next day. “You're going to be transferred out of your foster home and into a home for troubled youths, so you can be in closer contact with professionals who can help you out of this situation.”

On the whole, that was an improvement. “All right.”

* * *

Loop 107 notes

-The Construction part of the Barrier tome was long-winded and technical, but I can summarize thus: it was crafted as an environmental barrier such as those used in underwater cities, it has seven locks that were separately designed by the seven individuals who erected it, and it has a specific set of rules as to what passes through. Non-sentient non-enchanted things can pass freely, so water, air, seeds, and mundane objects can go in and out. Enchanted objects can pass through if the enchantment is inactive or of low power (so it would be possible to set an enchantment's activation trigger and toss it in). Personal experience tells me that enchanted objects can go in if they are attached to someone (such as my rosary) or within dimensional storage. Animals can go in and out freely as well. Sentient beings such as monsters and humans can only go in. They can't leave. Also, spirits can't leave, which the remnant's behaviors support.

-Exception to no leaving: an enchanted accessory that matches a particular sequence in the barrier's structure will allow free movement in and out. It was planned to have someone go in at regular intervals in order to speak with the monsters. Might be useful to get a small number through, but won't help with the ghosts. A scan of the sequence is in other files. Wonder why the monsters haven't found that.

* * *

As the years passed by, more of the Sunbeam club got used to Nevyn's oddities and treated him like one of their own. New members were often nervous around him, so he let them connect to other members who would assure them that he was perfectly fine. He even managed to make two friends over time. Today, the club was trying out a new game, letting them work as a team today.

“Well Nevyn can conjure ingredients like it's nothing, so maybe he should take that role,” Jenna said, looking uncertainly over the instructions. She always brought her own chef's hat and apron, both pink and made so that her cat features weren't restricted. “Although, the batter sounds like it'd be a tough position.”

“I can easily do delta spells like that, but I'm still weak on making stuff that tastes good,” Nevyn said. “And the batter position shouldn't be that hard. It's a standard exercise in some schools of magic.”

His other friend, Jackie, nudged Jenna with her elbow, just missing with the spikes. Jackie never seemed to wear the same thing twice outside of the school uniform. This month, she'd been trying out a pastel explosion version of punk fashion. “You should handle the cooking part, that's right up your alley. I can handle the ingredient conjuring and mixing, no problemo.”

“I'll try,” Jenna said, clutching a fist to give herself the resolve. “Got to be optimistic about myself too, huh?”

“Yeah, you've got it,” Jackie said with a smile.

“Alrighty teams, are we ready to begin Energy Pancake Tennis?” the current club leader called out through a bullhorn.

“So conjure,” Nevyn pointed to Jackie, “cook,” then to Jenna, “and I'm batter?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jackie said.

“Okay, let's do this,” Jenna said.

At the signal, Jackie started summoning the ingredients to make pancake batter, whipping it all together with a small wind spell. Jenna prepped her pan, making sure nothing would stick and heating it up to a temperature she could maintain. That would all convince the magic that it was pancakes at the end of it. As for Nevyn, his job was to gather the magical energy that made this particular recipe special. That started by going onto a tennis court with a skillet in hand. He summoned a healing spell that took shape of a pancake (his came out red, of course), then hurled it over the net towards the batter-cook of the opposite team. Meanwhile, he had to grab the spell that had been sent to him in the pan and toss it back.

Each successful catch and throw added a bit more power to the energy pancake. It was hectic with two spells on the court at once, so Nevyn smacked the green one back a couple feet to her left. While he managed to grab his red one on return, she had to scramble to change direction and lost the green one. If her team had points yet, that would be a deduction. One on the field made it easier on him to take caution in how much energy got transferred into the pancake. He had to wait...

“Ready!” Jackie called behind him.

“R-ready,” Jenna added.

Good. Nevyn sent more energy into the pancake, not enough for it to be ready. When his opponent struck it, it gained a comet tail on return. He secured his footing so that when it hit with more power, he kept it from falling out of his pan. “Coming at you,” he said, turning to toss the pancake back towards Jenna. A point to them.

Jenna caught it, then quickly poured batter on top of it. The energy pancake and magical pancake batter fused together. With that, all that had to be done was for Jenna to successfully cook it. Still, that wasn't the end of the contest. The goal was to get three complete pancakes first. They'd then swap to face another team until all teams had faced each other and a tasting would help decide the final winners.

It was a ridiculous sport, with lots of potential for messes as the cooks tried to complete their end quickly before the batter might have another energy pancake for them. He lost some points and matches because he didn't often participate in something with so much physical activity. Still, it was an amusing ridiculousness, satisfying as his friends got excited with their good progress. It was enough that he could say he was having fun instead of acting like he was. A bit of light bubbled through his soul, unwittingly causing his expression to shift.

As he came back towards his friends at the end of the third match, feeling that light gladly, Jackie smiled, then shifted it to a smirk. “Well would you look at that?”

Jenna slipped the newest pancake onto the plate, then looked at him. She quickly dropped the pan onto a hot pad, her ears perked forward. “Ah, Nevyn, you're smiling!” She then hugged him.

“Really?” he said, trying to hold onto it as he felt venomous opposition in his mind.

And the light feeling of happiness only grew as the other Sunbeams cheered and encouraged him for actually showing emotion for a little while.

Ridiculous, silly, inefficient, but fun... LOVE 24 > LOVE 22

* * *

Loop 107 notes

Started LOVE 25 -down to LOVE 22 as of autumn 15. The socialization is really helping; I actually want to interact with people now. It's a good feeling.

-Confirmed that none of the wizards directly wrote down how to break their personal seal in the Barrier tome. However, they have each described the lock riddles and gave hints to the solutions in doing so. I have identified hints to four of the seals, will need to re-read carefully to find the other three.

-Chara is starting to talk. However, the talk is all hostile. Has been repeating the remnant's questions of why I betrayed them, thus it may be the remnant speaking. Chara has confirmed my suspicion that their home is with the monsters. May have to devote the next loop to bringing them down there and putting them to rest. That's a challenge.

-Befriend a few of the monsters? I would have called it ridiculous, but now I really must speak to Alphys and get her trust. I have yet to find another human who studies the barrier and the more I learn about what it will take to destroy it, the less I want to do so with only my work in this. Solving the seal riddles of masters will take a great effort and overexerting myself could be fatal. Befriend Alphys at the very least.

-But I've been thinking, Undyne looked different in loop 106 then I recalled her being like. She didn't look near as terrifying. Rather, she seemed almost normal once you look past the fact that she's a fish lady. Asgore was much different too. Was my perception so badly skewed at higher corruption levels? It's entirely possible, since there's not much definitive information about humans with corruption like I had. There isn't a lot for someone like I am right now, except that it's nigh impossible to recover from. All the books suggest that going over one hundred percent would take a lifetime to reverse.

-Fine then. Make friends with the monsters. I don't know if it can be done, or how, but most of my sins were committed against them. I'll be freeing them anyhow, so I might as well do my best to treat them well. I just hope they don't try to make me into a hero, I’m no hero with what I’ve done.

* * *

What happened to the Humans?

For much of our imprisonment, our caverns had no exits nor entrances. The one exception was the cave mouth in New Home. However, that is the origin point for the barrier and thus is impossible to leave through. We thought we'd never see humans again. But then around a hundred years ago, Princess Chara managed to fall in through a hole in the ruins of Home. Over the next forty-two years, six other young humans got in, presumably all through the same entrance. We're only certain of this because they were all first spotted in Snowdin Forest.

Now it's been sixty years since the last human came into the Kingdom of Monsters. So what happened to the humans?

The most logical answer is that the hole over the ruins got blocked off. Since it was all children who fell in, the humans would presumably take action so that no other children fell in. Or if there was some quirk that only allowed children to get in, they fixed up the issue or outright forbid their children from coming near the mountain. It may even have been a natural blockage since we cannot get into the ruins, due to the nature of the door there, in order to see what happened.

Of course, this has put an extensive hold on the king's plan to break the barrier. There has been some discussion of trying to lure the last human needed down here. It may not be as difficult as it sounds, since patches of sunlight have been reported as appearing all over the underground, most prominently in Waterfall. If we could track those patches to the holes they come from, it should be possible to make contact with humans there and get one to come inside the barrier's range.

It may also be that the humans remember the legends too and have forbidden all access to the mountain to prevent us from having a chance against them. We still must be careful in our contact with them to avoid repeating history.

-article in Snowdin Chronicles

* * *

“Thank you so much, everyone,” Jenna said, smiling and seeming like she might tear up at any moment. Nevyn wondered if that was out of being overwhelmed. “Being one of the Sunbeams has meant so much to me; I overcame my own shyness thanks to the club and it's so wonderful to be spreading such positivity even outside the club. I, I’ll do my best to keep that going as the club leader next school year, we'll keep this greatness going!”

The others clapped and cheered for her. Nevyn tried to smile, but those usually came out when he wasn't thinking about it. Instead, he waited until the meeting was over and others were leaving. “You'll do a great job, don't worry.”

“Thank you Nevyn,” she said, giving him a hug. “Though if you were a part of the school, I bet they would've voted you in.”

“What, me, a deadpan guy leading a club of optimists?” he asked, trying to inflect. It didn't work. “That was a joke.”

Jenna still chuckled. “You're trying, you'll get there someday.” Then she put a hand to her lips. “Oh, but, did Jackie ask to talk to you?”

“No, what about her?”

She actually turned her ears down at that. “Oo, still? Well, you should go talk to her. She's probably at her locker, so you should be able to catch her.”

“What for?” Nevyn asked. He talked with Jenna and Jackie plenty, so he wasn't sure what the latter would want.

“Just go before you miss her,” Jenna said, nudging him towards the door.

“All right, I'll see what she wants,” he said, picking up his bag on his way out.

Since dimensional boxes were forbidden in the classroom areas, lockers were scattered through all the floors for students to store their things in. As a junior, Jackie's locker was on the sixth floor near her and Jenna's homeroom. It was quiet with just a few others coming out of club activities getting their things. Jackie had shut her locker and turned to find him coming out of the teleport square. “N-Nevyn, well this is a surprise. What are you doing here? The guards might get after you for wandering about.”

“They're used to me, so it should be okay if it's just a couple of minutes,” he said. “Jenna said you wanted to talk.”

“D-did she?” Jackie asked, blushing pink now. It was at odds with her current emo goth fashion, all dark and trying to be mysterious. “Oh man... what did she say?”

“Just that you wanted to talk to me,” Nevyn said. “Is something wrong?'

She shook her head furiously. “No, no! It's just, well...” she sighed. “I guess. Um, could we at least leave the school first? And go hang out somewhere.”

“I have to text my guardian and keep within my boundaries,” Nevyn said, bringing out his tablet.

“Of course. Well, where can we go?”

Since he didn't want to get her in trouble with her parents, he suggested a city park that had a light rail station nearby. It was a nice day, warm sun shining down on plants that were ready for summer. There were a number of others there enjoying the weather, but they managed to find a spot near the fence that was quiet. Since this tall city had a narrow footprint, it held varying ground levels. This park was growing close to the upper third. Past the safety fence, there was quite a view out to the valley below, and Mt. Ebott beyond it.

“It's pretty amazing to see how close we are to untouched wilderness,” Jackie said, leaning on the fence. “And that this city got so big with such a cursed place nearby.”

“It's a good place to study magic because of the high amount of it in this area,” Nevyn said. Which made it all the more frustrating that nobody else was interested in studying the barrier on Mt. Ebott, not even just through books. They saw no benefit to such information, unlike the monsters who would probably kill to know what he did. If he was right, he still wanted someone to double-check his work.

“I guess so,” she said. She looked at the landscape for a moment before turning to him. “Um, well, you're probably wondering why I wanted to talk.”

“That was the point of coming out here,” he said, looking back to her. But not quite at her, since his gaze unnerved people, even those who knew him.

Chuckling, she leaned towards him. “You've got quite a way of speaking, I always thought it was cool. I mean, I know you can't help it, but still, um,” she stood back straight, putting her hands behind her back. “And you look cool too, especially since those weird marks have faded from your face and hands. Once you get more normal looking, I'm sure you'll be really hot, uh, well,” she started blushing again.

“That hasn't been on my mind,” Nevyn said. “What are you trying to say?”

“Well, you're smart, can't you figure it out?” She smiled, but her eyes were nervous.

“No, I'm not sure what I should be thinking,” he said. When she looked disappointed, he said, “Sorry, I've never had anybody who liked how I spoke before.”

“Well it's so cool and mysterious, you'd fit right in with goth fashion,” Jackie said. “More so than me, heh. But what I'm saying is, um, would you go out with me? I really like you, and, I want to be closer to you.”

That was enough of a shock that Nevyn's thoughts froze for a second. She wanted to date him? It seemed crazy, who'd be attracted to someone like him? “Are you sure about that?” he asked. “Most people are scared to look me in the eyes; they shudder the first time they walk by me, everyone does. I don't see how I could be attractive in any way. You are nice, and I like your spirit and creativity, but you'd do better with someone else.”

“But I don't think your true self is scary,” she said, startling him again in coming close and taking his hand. In spite of the black fingernails and skull ring, her hands were soft and warm. And she gripped him tight like she didn't want to lose him; her magic pulsed in her blood with unfocused energy, wanting to do something great but not knowing what to do. “The times when your chilly demeanor drops, you seem like a sweet and kindhearted guy. Like you'll immediately go to help up someone who trips or offer a healing spell if someone gets hurt in the club. I want to help you be yourself more often. And I think, if someone really cares about you, maybe it'll be easier on you.”

There was a logical thought in him that he should say no. There was less than a year left before the mountain collapsed and he would be forced to rewind time to when they'd be strangers. If it was painful enough to lose a mentor like that, it had to be worse if he lost a girlfriend the same way. But there was an illogical flutter of warmth in his soul at her words too, getting bold as she shifted her grip on his hand to interlace their fingers. An inner cry to be himself, even if it was only for a few months, even if it meant struggling to feel what he shouldn't.

“Jackie,” he said, his heart beating a little faster when he did. He closed his eyes. “This is going to hurt, I feel like my heart's being strangled right now. But it's fighting to make itself heard. O-okay,” he opened his eyes and looked right at her. And she didn't flinch. “Okay. I hope I won't be horrible about it, but okay, let's do this.”

Can you really be in love when your soul is not your own? LOVE 22 > LOVE 21

* * *

Memories

I started putting this in my loop notes, but it got so long I'm putting it in its own file.

Upon realizing that my memories of the monsters are unreliable, I decided to take some time to recall back to how this all happened. I hoped I might remember something about them that wasn't skewed, from before my corruption got so bad. But the guilt and horror in the memories I have of those times are powerful. It's hard to look past them, but I tried.

I remember a sunny summer day when the sky was pure blue and the wild areas outside my suburban neighborhood were green and inviting. I was playing with some friends; I don't remember their names, nor their faces, but I do remember they all had different ideas of what we should do and I got to decide. When we were playing together, we didn't want that fun to end. So, I didn't let it go. I kept rewinding that afternoon when it got to evening and we had to head home. I chose different plans and played with them.

Eventually, I got through all the different plans and different ways of going about our games. Sometimes I had to stop to sleep, but I could always claim a nap and rewind back to the start. But I still didn't want it to end. I started going away from my friends and finding my own fun: hiking through the forest, swimming in a pond I found without them, climbing trees and spending entire afternoons just daydreaming of bigger adventures.

Then I started sneaking onto the light rail and exploring around the city on my own: looking around stores my parents would never take me in, getting into movie theaters without paying, walking through museums that took a dozen resets to satisfy me. I think that was the first time I used my power so extensively, to keep a single day going over and over. Before that, it was little one-time rewinds: avoiding scraped knees and hands by not repeating a trip, not getting in trouble for a broken window by not hitting a baseball so hard, making people think I was smart by undoing an incorrect guess.

I did eventually let the evening come and go home for dinner as I should have. But that summer, there were many days that were like years. I may have even forgotten my original friends in that time. And there were times that my own family seemed like strangers since I hardly talked to them. Sometimes I got into trouble for wandering off on my own, but all I had to do to fix it was go back and spend some time where I should have been. A few hours spent washing the dishes or dusting my mother's knickknacks paid for a year's worth of a single day doing my own thing.

Then fall finally came and I had to go back to school. Having discovered what I could do, I had a lot more freedom. I could skip school, then come back to keep a perfect attendance record. And I could skip back further, redoing several days in order to make sure my tests and quizzes all came back perfect. Around this time, I began reading and studying on my own. All my play and mischief had made me curious about things. If I couldn't finish a book in one day, I could just repeat that day until it was done. I became a star pupil in that way, getting recognized as a genius. The adults saw my progress as amazing, learning about whole subjects in a single day when it was really taking me years.

By the time spring semester was up, I had gone from starting to learn magic with my classmates to being recognized as a mage with excellent control over several elements. It got to the point where I was surpassing high school seniors who had focused their studies on magic. Since I could undo anything that made me seem like a delinquent or insufficient, they thought I was a flawless prodigy. But it was all because of the chronograph I was born with.

Why did I have it? I don't know, don't even know if I ever knew why. I know it allows me to rewind time and get information about the potentials in any event that happens. While the chronograph has its limits, those limits are only there because I have a physical body that can't handle going back to before I was born, or before I understood it. And it currently can't go back beyond the wall created by that exorcism seal.

If Chara's remnant, or even Chara, gets claim on my chronograph, they won't be limited by the needs and growth of a body because they are spirits. They could change time to an even greater degree than I can. Thus, no matter how desperate things get, I cannot give the remnant my chronograph and thus my power. I even gave up my soul to it, but I won't give up the chronograph.

How did I come to give away my soul and name? That's still vague, as is how I first ended up in the underground. I should remember, I just have to keep trying. I want to remember this, partly so I can tell Jackie and Jenna about it. For most of this loop, they'd been doing their best to be friends to me and help me change, especially Jackie. I want to tell them the truth; I just need to remember what the truth is.

Maybe I can't be in love, but I can care about them still. LOVE 21 > 20


	4. Funerary Procession

“Oh god, no,” he said, unfolding the paper airplane.

'do you believe that anyone can be a good person if they just try? i believed that some people simply couldn't be good. you certainly never seemed to try. but your situation is more complicated than i believed. there might be a glimmer of a good person in you yet. if you have any heart at all, prove him right. if you want to be redeemed, bring the children back home.

'you showed up at the end last time. but you didn't hurt anybody, least not that i noticed. scared undyne with the door business, which is impressive. what were you doing in there? not that you can answer this note. but if you are doing something instead of nothing, perhaps someday we can talk about it. perhaps not. my memory is not as reliable as yours. it would be impressive if there comes a time when we do talk like normal people rather than what we have become.'

It was happening early again. In fact, the earliest collapse yet according to his chronograph. Jackie and Jenna were just starting their winter vacation. Although, that made it easy to decide on what to do. He sent them both a text message. 'There's something really important I need to talk to you two about right now. Meet me up at Eldwin's Park, in the spot with the good view of Mt. Ebott.' Then he made sure to copy down the note, adding some thoughts that it was hinting even stronger that this was Sans for some reason.

In order to get permission to leave the home for troubled youths today, he had to use some of the points he'd built up on good behavior. The lady working at the front desk did work with him due to how urgent this seemed. Not that it mattered, what with the world about to end again. Thankfully, his friends agreed to the meeting, if complaining in jest about going out in the current weather.

He was getting on the light rail train when the petulant voice of a child that never grew up spoke up. “Can you not turn back time this time? Just give up already.”

“I'm not giving up until I've redeemed myself and kept the world from ending,” he whispered into his scarf. That at least kept the few others on the train from hearing him talk to someone they couldn't see.

“What's the point? Humans need to suffer for all the things they've done bad.”

Suffer... feeling that strong wish to hurt others, Nevyn touched his rosary and went through the prayer. “You're human,” he said once it was complete.

“Am not. I got adopted by monsters, so I'm a monster.” They tried to enforce the idea of killing the others on the train.

Nevyn bit his lip to resist. “So you'd end the lives of all monsters in order to get rid of all the humans?”

“S'not what I meant,” Chara grumbled.

The train was pulling into the park's station, so he got up to leave. “But if the world ends today, that's what will happen. Why do you hate humans so much?”

“Humans're bad,” they mumbled.

As Nevyn walked over to the spot, he thought over some unfamiliar memories that Chara was thinking through loudly. A father who was hardly ever home but yelled when he did and once punched a hole in the wall. A mother who was home most of the time, but forgot to do chores or make meals and often said to make something yourself if there was a complaint. And the TV, which always got a scolding if they tried to use the remote. It was always set to shows that displayed just how horrible people were to each other: genocide, murder, theft, manipulation, drugs, torture, lots of weird scary noises and always always terrible things. That's just what's wrong with the world today, there's so much crime and anger and injustice and they all should just die. You don't contribute anything and are so needy, will you just shut the hell up? It costs so much to take care of a child, it's a heavy burden but that jackass is never home and that bitch is too lazy and you do nothing but get in trouble. Will you just get out of my life?

So they did, they got out of being human by getting lost in the forest, because that's how you went about finding a fairy or spirit or something to take care of you, right? There was a book that talked about that, a book they'd worn out reading. Then they'd tripped on a vine and found something even better than being adopted by fairies. But they were still a needy little burden, still an awful human. You don't deserve to hear any more of that story, so pffft.

Nevyn was the first to get to the spot, so he stayed where he could easily be seen from the main path to think. It did sound like a horrible life. Still, “Destroying the world is a huge overreaction, especially when it cost the lives of the people you do love.”

“Not like you're any better,” Chara taunted. “You're the one who first destroyed the world and you were just mad about people questioning your power.”

“Was that why?” he asked. “Whatever reason I had, I know that it's wrong now and I'm going to set things right.”

“It's all a big waste of effort, if you ask me. Nobody's going to know you saved the world if you manage it, nor how much time, study, and work you've put into it. They really won't know if it does kill you.”

“I don't care if it's only me who knows in the end,” Nevyn said. “Being known is not the point.”

“You're going to die and let the rest of humanity live, that's a terrible waste.” They then gave the mental image of turning around, not about to listen anymore.

“You're sounding like your remnant,” he said, not getting a reaction.

“Hey Nevyn!” Both Jenna and Jackie were coming off the path to meet with him. Jenna was the one who called. “What's going on?”

“I have to say goodbye,” Nevyn said, feeling there was no point to softening that up. “I'm sorry. But there's something I wanted to explain to you both before I left.”

“You're going?” Jackie asked in a fright. “But why? Where are you going?”

“To the past,” he said, which was enough to keep them quiet. He called out his chronograph. “You both know I'm good with magic, but what I haven't told you is that I have powers over time. Basically, I can rewind time, redo anything I like, and nobody will be the wiser. Or rather, almost nobody. That's why my corruption rating is as high as it is, and was even higher in my past. While about ten years went on for the world, about six hundred have gone by for me.”

“You're a time traveler?” Jenna asked, confused.

“With limits,” he said. “Here, I'll prove it. Think of a number.” After giving them a moment, he asked, “What is it?”

“17,” Jenna said.

“54,” Jackie said. “But...”

“I'll get to it,” Nevyn said, then turned time back a smidge. “Think of a number.” After a moment, he then pointed to Jenna, “You're thinking 17,” then to Jackie, “And you're thinking 54. I know because I asked.”

“But you...” Jenna started to say, then realized what he meant. “Oh wait. Yeah, you were exactly right. So you just went back a few seconds?”

“Right, but I need to go back ten years now,” he said. “Which means undoing everything in those ten years, including meeting you both.”

“Why do you need to go back that far?” Jackie asked, making a fist and starting to cry.

He offered her the airplane note. “Because of this. Every time I get this, Mt. Ebott over there always collapses within two hours and then the world ends. I can't entirely explain it because I don't know why for certain that happens. But it does.” He tapped the chronograph. “This is the source of my power and I cannot let it fall into the hands of the one who is responsible for the world ending. Thus, I cannot be here when that happens. I really wanted to explain when we had more time to say goodbye, but the note showed up half an hour ago and I wasn't expecting it this early.”

Jenna took Jackie's arm. “He's right, you know. If there's someone about who wants to end the world, they really shouldn't get a power that can turn back time.”

“But we're never going to see you again, at least not knowing you?” Jackie asked, looking at him with pleading eyes. “And the world's going to end? What's going to happen to us? Or, this time, if you redo everything?”

He shrugged. “Nothing, it's turning time back. Though, I've never had anyone to ask to be sure. The person who wrote that note used to hate me with a passion, but I can't remember why. Perhaps he knows what happens, but it's only recently that he's started being less hostile to me. I would guess you just revert back to who you were ten years ago, to go back through life without realizing you were doing so. Although, there was one person who cared about me in another time loop. He said I seemed familiar this time around and he's been friendly any time I run across him. Maybe you'll feel the same if we run into each other next time.”

“I’m sure we will,” Jenna said, although she was looking mostly at Jackie who was still upset. “Although... maybe you should go soon? Because, aren't the monsters living under the mountain? If it's going to fall down on top of them, maybe it's best to end this time before such devastation begins.”

“Maybe,” Nevyn said, glancing over. The mountain was still standing.

“But, what's this about redeeming yourself by bringing the children home?” Jackie said. “What's that mean?”

He looked back at them. “Do you know the story of the seven children who got lost on Mt. Ebott? They ended up in the underground where the monsters are. And, they died down there. So you know all the time I spend in Hearthstone Library? I was figuring out how to bring down the barrier in order to bring their lost souls home. My next goal is to enter the underground again and locate a monster who's supposed to be knowledgeable about the barrier, make sure that I can do this. Then hopefully, I’ll bring them home.”

“But that was a barrier made by seven masters, wasn't it?” Jackie asked. “Won't trying to take down something like that by yourself kill you?”

“I hope not, that's why I need to do more research.” Then he came closer to them. “Also, I have to thank both of you. Because of your friendship, and all the time I spent with the Sunbeam club, I'm nearly below two hundred percent corruption. I need to atone even more, but I've done a lot better this time around. I mean, I'm starting to feel a lot more,” he reached out to Jackie, “enough that it hurts to leave you both behind, but if I can spare you both from the end of the world, I may as well turn back now.”

Still crying, Jackie jumped over and hugged him. This time, he felt the corruption cracking strongly, letting sadness and yet caring come over him. Maybe love too? He couldn't be sure. “Y-you make sure to be friends with us again, all right?”

“I'll do my best,” Nevyn said, not wanting to promise it, not knowing what breaking the barrier would do to him. “Goodbye.”

Then he rewound time again, as far back as he could go.

Bringing back emotions brings back pain, but that is proof I care. LOVE 20 > LOVE 19

* * *

“I'm placing a Penance Rosary on you,” the priest said, then paused. This whole thing was giving him a sense of deja vu, like he'd done this over a dozen times already. The hazel-eyed boy sitting with an unnatural calm nodded, completely understanding even though he was only eight years old. “I’ll explain its functions later.”

“Okay,” the boy said, not even flinching when he snapped the rosary on. He'd known some adults over sixty percent corruption who acted like the rosary burned. This boy was nearly two hundred percent corrupt; they were lucky to catch him now, even though getting him back down to normal could take a lifetime.

It might not, it all depended on how determined the boy was to find redemption. Picking up the clipboard with the registration form, the priest asked, “Do you have your name?”

After a pause, he said, “No, it was stolen from me. I've been using Nevyn for now.”

He wrote it down and glanced at the school record. The boy's original name was fuzzy; he could see the shape but not what it was. “All right Nevyn. Do you know your age?”

“8 years, but 587 years at the same time.” And there was that feeling of deja vu, knowing this was true and knowing he could produce a chronograph as proof.

* * *

Loop 107 notes

Started LOVE 25 -Ended LOVE 19! And I feel upset because of feelings coming back to me. Progress remains painful, but there is promise.

-If possible, when this is all over, find Jackie and Jenna to be friends with them again. Or at least make sure they're okay.

 

Loop 108 notes

-Started LOVE 19

-They're letting me go to my family's funeral for the first time. It's been so long that I look at their photos and I don't know how I feel. One moment I’m disconnected, then I recall something about them, then I feel awful. But the thing that really slammed into my heart and won't let go is that the remnant did get a hold of my power once. It used that to go back in time, slaughter my family, and destroy our home, all while in my body. But it wasn't used to a body and caused us to faint. That allowed the priest to set up the exorcism and start to get me disconnected from the remnant.

-Worst thing is, I want to cry but I can't.

* * *

On the walk into the memorial park, those who had cared about his family came out to sing as they followed those who carried the ashes. There was a large crowd there: schoolmates of his siblings, friends of his parents, other family members, people he hardly remembered and more he didn't know. It made Nevyn feel an emptiness inside his soul, a pain that wanted him to cry even though he was, in truth, so far removed from the murders. For the rest of these people, it had happened just this week.

They stopped at the shrine of death for the funeral ceremony itself. Even though he was responsible in some part, even though he couldn't think of the names, Nevyn was still a child of this family and thus brought to the front of the crowd. He was dressed in a black cloak with a veil over his face. A grandmother he didn't remember came up to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. While someone tried to get her away from him, she refused. Who was she? Were they going to send him with her now? He didn't recall her or anyone else in his extended family contacting him this whole time. Had they been forbidden to, or had they been scared?

The priestesses set down the ash vases for his siblings first. They made certain the souls were there, sang a lullaby to soothe them, then used a sacred prayer to put their souls fully to rest, to return to Mother Earth. While they were doing the prayer, Nevyn felt an irritating itch from the conflict of holy power near his inner corruption. It wasn't truly painful, so he endured.

With the children taken care of, the priestesses set the ash vases for his parents down, keeping their bond of marriage past life and into death. Their souls were agitated, though. They didn't want to be soothed. After an uneasy moment for the crowd, one of the priestesses turned and waved Nevyn to come closer.

They were worried about him? Even though he'd killed them, in their eyes? Nevyn came forward slowly, his soul getting more agitated as he got closer to the solemn stone shrine. He was someone who evaded death, he was unnatural, the shrine spirits did not like him. Trying to ignore that, he stopped near the vases where the red and green souls of his parents were. Were their souls aware of how long it had been since they'd seen each other?

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, holding his hands out to them.

They came to him; their souls touched each other. Almost crying out, Nevyn stumbled and had to be caught by one of the priestesses to keep on his feet. There was warmth, love, worry, fear, sadness, forgiveness. They wanted his soul to be free of corruption, hoped for it. Even seeing him last, they wished they could have done more to help him, to stop something they didn't understand from destroying him like this. For them, it was just this week that they had last seen him. And they knew that whatever had killed them was not him.

But it was him who created that situation in the first place. Not wanting to cause his parents' souls to linger, he added, “I will redeem myself, I promise. I, I miss you.” His throat tightened and his mind hurt, but his soul wanted to say, “I love you, do not worry about me any longer.”

Nevyn felt like both of them were hugging him at once. And then, they let go. He dropped down to sit on the ground before the shrine, still not able to cry but feeling his emotions thrashing about trying to come out. One of the priestesses sat by him while the other two finished the ceremony.

Knowing my parents forgave me is a great weight off my soul. LOVE 19 > LOVE 18

* * *

While being turned back into a child by time travel had some really bad disadvantages, there were some definite advantages. A smaller size, for one, allowing Nevyn to sneak about more readily. The procession had to finish in exiting the memorial park, but once through the gate, the crowd dispersed in different directions. Some lingered, some headed for the nearby light rail station. After getting away from the crowd, Nevyn activated Fleetfoot and rushed alongside the rails, making his way towards a bigger station. He wanted to be done with this quickly.

He checked the schedules, then slipped under the bars to get on a train heading back towards the church he'd been kept in since the exorcism. He nearly got to his room without notice, but then a deacon spotted him. Going back a minute, Nevyn was more careful to hide until the woman left the hall, then carried on. He changed out of his funeral clothes and into a striped shirt and jeans. He would have preferred an armored cloak to protect against the magical attacks monsters excelled at. Then again, he wanted things to go peacefully this time. That meant dressing normally. He grabbed the case for his tablet, having all the things he wanted packed into its dimensional storage: some snacks and medicines to ease the transfer, satellite signal boosters, a blanket and pillow, and a few other things he might need. Not much preparation, but he wanted as much time as possible.

Going back out of the church required a couple more rewinds to avoid notice. Once he was on the light rail train headed for the Mt. Ebott National Park, he was practically gone from the human world. After all, he could Fleetfoot across the valley again before anyone at the ranger station there realized what he meant to do.

Nevyn had given some thought as to where to enter. The cave high up on the mountain was most direct to the barrier, but it went right into the king's castle. With the intimidation factor of his corruption lessened, that was too reckless. There were various small entrances that led into New Home, Hotland, Waterfall, and Snowdin. But, he didn't know where Dr. Alphys would be. Lastly, there was the cave that dropped into the Ruins. The Ruins would give him some time to adjust himself. And if he figured out the door, a place to retreat if things got dangerous. But that route would drop him directly onto Chara's grave, where the remnant would be.

Dealing with the remnant was a risk, but he felt that the quiet of the locked off ruins would suit his purposes best. Any other way and he risked running right into the monsters, or a huge pit, or a dead end before or even after the barrier. He knew where the Ruins entrance went.

It was a wide hole in a cave at the foot of the mountain. Strangely, there was an even larger hole in the ceiling of this cave, like it had collapsed long ago. Spring runoff was pouring down from overhead, leading to a waterfall veil at various points. This supported a mass of vines growing on uneven terrain. If one got in here, it would be all too easy to fall into the underground on accident. Due to the play of light and shadow within the area, it was difficult to judge just how deep the hole went. Nevyn could see how another exploring child could easily slip in. Or, how a desperate one might do the same. He wasn't desperate and knew where he was going, so he carefully made his way over and cast Featherfall before jumping in the hole.

In the faint hope of not disturbing the remnant, Nevyn aimed his fall so he landed outside the circle of sunlight, off the patch of golden flowers that covered the grave. It was quiet and still here, a steady patter of water falling from overhead being the only sound and movement aside from him. The area was smoothed out, but the dirt floor showed signs of eroding from rain and snow. After he'd slipped through barrier, here invisible until he made contact, a feeling of great power continued to surround him. This was a place where the native magic was strong. Pure.

Pure?

…

“It's mine, I won't give it up!” he said angrily, sending his chronograph back within himself. “I can handle it!”

“This is a dangerous power you wield, boy,” the master wizard said, looking down at him sternly. “It will lead to your ruin and no one will be able to save you. For the sake of your soul, give it up now.”

“No!” He then rewound time until he got to a point where the master had asked if he had any natural abilities. “I don't know,” he answered this time. The interview went much better this time, although the master had no interest in taking him as an apprentice. Not that it mattered, he didn't want to study under him anymore.

As he was leaving the magic academy, a voice in the hallway stopped him. “Interesting chronograph you have there.”

He turned quickly to see a strange person there. It was hard to tell if they were a man or woman, from the ambiguous voice to the leather cloak that covered their body. For that matter, it was hard to tell if they were human. “How did you see it?” he asked.

“I see things many others don't,” the being said, coming closer and crouching down to be eye to eye with him. They then snapped their bony fingers, calling out a black and white chronograph. “I know a kindred spirit when I see them.”

“You can turn time backwards too?” Who was this? And could they teach him?

They sent theirs away. “Not quite, I have other abilities. Like you,” they reached over and touched his eyebrows. “You bring up interesting possibilities. I'm curious… oh yes, I am called Baphomet. I wonder what you can accomplish.”

“Would you teach me, Baphomet?” he asked.

“I'd rather assign you a mission,” they said. “You'll need to take lots of notes, as this could take a long time. There is a place where magic is pure...”

A few days later, he was in the underground for the first time, facing off against a dragon. She wasn't quite as huge as he'd thought dragons would be, although she was still plenty larger than himself. Ivory fangs and long claws, white fur and golden eyes of a quiet fury, a symbol of power and the heat of growing fire, she blocked his way forward. “No one will ever leave me again,” she said sternly.

…

“What was that mission?” Nevyn mumbled as he reviewed those memories again. And who was Baphomet really? The name seemed vaguely familiar, like someone he'd only met once or twice but who had left a great impression on him.

“We destroyed the world,” the remnant said. He turned around and it was lingering in the sunlight, a blight on the purity here. “Why did you betray our victory? I thought it was just a twisted sentimentality, but you've persisted so much in the completely opposite direction that you've gone too far. You're going against our ideals.”

“Our ideals don't match anymore,” Nevyn said. “I want to put an end to this.”

It drifted closer to him, darkening the area. “So let the world remain destroyed.”

“I mean I want to stop reliving these ten years and move on in everyone's life,” he said, moving away but keeping his eyes on it. “I don't want the world destroyed, it's such a waste.”

The remnant narrowed its eyes at him. “Isn't this a waste of our efforts? Not just anyone can destroy the world.”

“I don't want that. And I don't want to work with you anymore.” Nevyn clenched a fist. “Rather, I’ll destroy you.”

“You think you're intimidating as a small child?” the remnant sneered, backing up and drawing shadows to itself. “I'll be happy to defeat you to take your body and my soul back.” It fired a thick volley of shadow orbs at him.

Meanwhile, Nevyn activated his first spell, Swiftfoot. It let him skate about on the floor to dodge quickly with less chance than Fleetfoot of fading out if he had to go still. He checked himself to make sure Chara was still with him (they were), then the remnant to figure out the best way to defeat it. Unfortunately, the runes he was seeing confirmed what he had theorized. The remnant was made up of negative emotions and the best way to fight it would be with holy magic. And holy magic would hurt Nevyn, even as the caster.

Curving slicing blades rushed towards him, forcing him to get closer to avoid being struck. Since he was, Nevyn used a water spell that made a blast of hot water right around him. He left the portion behind himself to fall early so he could dart away to follow up with a lightning bolt. The remnant was hurt, but that just made it hiss and increase the intensity of the spells. However, he could keep dodging…

Something grabbed his left ankle and pulled hard. Nevyn slammed into the floor, filling his body with pain. A heavy barrage of shadow orbs pummeled him, almost killing him. When he opened his eyes, everything was dark, not a bit of sunlight remaining. However, some things he could see. The remnant was barely red, its eyes glowing white. At Nevyn's feet, there was a bright green vine wrapped around his ankle so tight that it might cut his foot off.

“You can't destroy me,” the remnant said, floating closer to him. “And I can't destroy you because you'll just go back. But I can torture you near death until you give your power to me at last.”

He could just rewind now and avoid getting grabbed. But maybe being so close gave him a chance to make a powerful strike. He was going to shoot it with lightning again, but then Chara appeared. Right, there wasn't an anti-spirit enchantment on the rosary now. “Aw, just kill him a bunch and the thing is bound to come loose.” The remnant echoed her words, gathering more shadows.

Perhaps a curving spell to wind around Chara? Before he could prepare one, a large fire orb nailed the remnant. Who else was here?

* * *

Something was different today, but Toriel wasn't sure what. Normally this end of the Ruins was quiet, with no monsters other than her coming this far. There was an air of conflict as she walked down the hall, growing stronger. But what monsters around here could leave ripples that strong? There was a definite crack of thunder, a sound she'd not heard from battle in a long time.

There was only one place this could be happening, which worried her. Not wanting to get involved right away, she put a hand on the door frame and peered into cavern. There was a strange corrupted spirit, like a lurking presence in a nightmare. It loomed over a human child that had fallen on the ground, tied to a strong vine… and a ghost child who was all too familiar. Without thinking twice, Toriel threw a fireball at the corrupt spirit and hurried into the room. That thing, whatever it was, it wasn't going to harm these children. Even if she couldn't explain why Chara was here, she would protect her.

“Stay out of this!” the spirit yelled, pulling Chara's soul back on puppet strings and making her speak with it. Curved blades of shadow were hurled at her.

Toriel had not been in battle at full force like this in centuries, but things came back to her and she could just barely avoid getting nicked. “Let those children go,” she demanded, retaliating with helix of fireballs in order to miss Chara and strike the spirit. Once she got in front of the boy on the floor, she cast a healing spell on him to keep him from fainting, or worse.

“They're mine,” the spirit and Chara said hatefully, the former echoing her attack with shadow orbs. “We're going to destroy humanity, we're going to destroy the world. No one can stop us!”

Behind her, the boy managed a cutting spell to free himself from the vine. “Thanks,” he said in a dull calm voice that was completely at odds with the situation. “Do you know any holy spells? The remnant can't be destroyed without one.”

“Yes, but it will take a moment,” Toriel said. She hadn't used such spells in even longer, aside from some healing spells which he probably didn't mean.

“I got it,” the boy said, sitting up and erecting a shield in front of them.

The spirit, a remnant as he called it, was further enraged when its shadow blades got deflected into the walls by the boy's spell. It summoned a spiked ball on a chain and slammed it into the shield in an attempt to break it. Not getting off the floor, the boy was silently focused on keeping his shield intact. That gave her the time she needed to recall and cast Holy Light, mostly useful in dispelling a cursed darkness. But it might also be useful against corrupt spirits.

A bright shaft of sunlight appeared right over the remnant, dissolving it into fine mist. Chara screamed in a tantrum, pulling at her hair. “Let me go! You should all just die already! Mom! Dad!” Swinging over to weeping, she dropped down to the bed of flowers on her hands and knees. “Bro? Where is everybody? Where'd you all go?”

The boy had already dismissed his shield, so Toriel went over and knelt by her. “Chara, I’m here. You'll be okay, we'll figure out what's going on. Be quiet, my child, don't be afraid.” She didn't have a clue what was going on, just that she wanted Chara to be calm and happy again.

“Mom?” She came over to hug her. Being a pure soul, she was insubstantial. “I don't know what's going on. If I'm not afraid, I'm angry; if I'm not angry, I'm afraid. There's bad people all around, they should all die, I lost bro, I'm so tired, can't the world just end already?” Chara had been fading as she spoke, now just a quivering red heart that Toriel tried to protect in her hands without absorbing.

Not wanting to lie, but not wanting to tell the full truth, she carefully said, “You're back with me; I'll keep you from those who scare you. But you don't need to be so angry.” The boy had gotten up and come to her side, watching her. Was he worried? Sometimes parts of his face twitched, like they would change expression. Toriel sighed. “I'm not sure what now; don't know why you're still here Chara.”

“Attacked him,” Chara mumbled. “Awful humans, die already. Said no, go back home. Where'd he go? What happened to me? So angry, so sad.”

“I apologize if I'm blunt, but remnants are created when a ghost's negative emotions overcome them as their self fades away over time.” He'd brought out some kind of electronic device, too big for a phone and seemingly too flat for anything. However, he put in a command to materialize a booklet. “If you can calm Chara down, this has the prayer recited for final rites of children in it. That should put her to rest without the remnant around.”

She should have known; they really had no idea how to properly inter a human to keep their persisting souls from lingering too long. Not even the burial here had helped. Hopefully, this worked. “Asriel became one with the flowers,” Toriel told Chara. “Don't worry about the ones who hurt you; it's been a long time and they're gone.” Which she couldn't say for sure, but it was most likely.

“Bad humans're gone?” Chara asked with a quiver.

“Yes, they're gone,” she said, shading her soul from the sight of the boy here. “Let go of your anger and fear. If you want to find him, I'm sure you end up with your brother soon. Just rest, my child.”

The heart of her soul slowed down at her words. “Mom, good. Safe now. I forgot things, lost things, but remember New Home. Get full of hate, it hurt. Don't need to hate? Good. Good. I'm safe.”

“Yes, you'll be safe here,” Toriel said, smiling with tears.

Part of her didn't want to give her last goodbyes again, but the alternative was Chara suffering even longer. Maybe losing to that corrupt remnant, if that's how that worked. It was better to say goodbye. With that in mind, she took the booklet from the boy; he'd already opened it to the right page.

“Gentle guardians of the afterlife, heed my call and come to guide this innocent soul lost all too soon,” Toriel recited from the booklet, feeling old pains in her soul as she did. She pulled her will together to be strong. And as she did, she felt an otherworldly yet gentle presence nearby. Chara would be taken care of well. “Chara, rest your weary soul and set your heart at ease. Let the pains, fears, and doubts be forgotten as you slumber deep with the Earth Mother, to be reborn anew in days to come. I hope that life will see you shine even brighter and reach your true potential. Gentle guardians, I,” she glanced at the lines which were meant to be spoken by a priestess, “Toriel, this child's adopted mother, entrust her to you and hope that this keeps the cycle of souls peaceful.”

Chara's soul faded away. For a moment, she sensed tender loving hands take hold of the girl's and assure her that things would be fine. It had worked, her soul would be troubled no more.

But then the boy collapsed. Toriel checked on him to find that he'd fainted, his body weak. From fighting off a potent corruption? How long had he been fighting the remnant before she came? No matter, he was alive and in need of help. She cast a stronger healing spell on him, fixing up a lot of cuts and bruises all over his body. His clothes would need to be repaired and cleaned up, but that could be taken care of later. For now, she would have to see if he'd wake up soon.

What had really happened here? She wasn't sure if this boy would understand, he was young. Then again, he could identify the spirit and how to deal with it. Maybe he was brighter than his age would suggest. Toriel skimmed over the booklet he'd had, soon identifying it as a funeral record or guide. For a specific funeral, for a... a family?

Toriel felt a chill through her body when she read the section labeled 'In Remembrance of the Elderbrook family'. Two parents who were well liked and modestly accomplished, three children whose promise had been snuffed out early just like Chara, all wiped out in one accident that destroyed their home, all with photos of smiling humans who thought nothing bad was coming. From the date on front, the funeral had been today, the accident not even a week ago.

At the end of the remembrance section, 'We ask for special prayers and thoughts for the surviving child as he recovers from a tragic spiritual attack.' The photo there was of this boy lying here, also looking happy and normal. Not like a child who would soon be afflicted by a spiritual corruption that gave him a rating of LOVE 18.

Someone like that could be dangerous. But then, he'd helped save Chara's soul without being asked. He was an orphan, one who'd be treated with suspicion by many. Perhaps something like that had driven him here. He'd need someone who could look past the corruption and care for him. He acted off, but that wouldn't be his true self. If he had time in a loving environment, he could heal and even find a normal life. Well, as normal as he could find living as a human among monsters.

Toriel turned back to the photos of the parents and touched the page. “Don't worry, I'll look after your son with the same love I gave my own.”


	5. Caretaker of the Ruins

The furry dragon turned to dust, a ghostly white soul briefly visible. Which was odd, human souls were never white, maybe monster souls were. Then it shattered as the soul passed on. Then his mind shattered with a scream of rage. Hate you, hate you all! Die! The rage burned in him.

It mixed with fear; this was a long winding cavern full of trees that lived without the sun, monsters that attacked him on sight, monsters that would chase him down and murder him, forcing him to rewind backwards to live and try to not be murdered again. Some monsters were nightmare variations of normal things: ducks with a mane of icy blades, cats with serpentine paws, airplanes that hissed and hated, suits of armor that smashed with bright morningstars. And some seemed like they should not be capable of living. Somewhere, there was even an eldritch abomination of a plant-computer hybrid with a wicked laugh and morbid sense of humor.

Not successful. With that thought, the first loop ended and he went through the process once again.

In those first loops, that feeling of hate and rage was constantly burning in the background of his mind. Then there was a moment, destroying a staring eye after daring it to a staring contest where it grew redshot and tired, when there was wicked laughter within his mind. It became fun then, not before as someone had often claimed in these loops. It became fun to kill them in the most brutal and inventive ways he could think of. In time, the hate, rage, fear, and enjoyment, it all overwhelmed him and it felt like he was directing his actions from far away, and then...

* * *

When he woke up, his body wasn't in as much pain but his mind was busily figuring things out. That time it became fun and his corruption starting being retained over rewinds instead of degrading, that had been in loop 11, hadn't it? He could check his notes sometime, although reading over anything before he had his epiphany was horrifying. It had happened early and the corruption got so bad... wasn't he over LOVE 50 at one point? Five hundred percent corruption, so degraded that he might as well have been a demon. His family had died and they mistook him for possessed.

Could he really be redeemed after going so far? But he had to try. Getting there was the only thing keeping him going. Hoping that he might one day change this awful cycle made enduring the slog to get his LOVE to drop possible. And he was getting there, making good progress.

A large soft paw caressed his forehead. No, paw? Those digits were long, they were fingers, it was someone's hand covered in short fur. He was in the underground, then. He'd... he'd just confronted the remnant and saved Chara's soul with the help of... someone with a white soul. While he hadn't seen what that person looked like, it seemed she was still there with him.

“Are you awake, my child?” a woman's voice said gently. And it was a beautiful voice, like someone who'd read stories in front of a fireplace. Wait, why did that image come to mind?

He opened his eyes and recognized her as that white dragon he remembered confronting from time to time. A powerful stern presence... but, not. She didn't look the same as he remembered. Instead, she was much less intimidating, like a nanny goat with a short snout, little horns, long drooping ears, soulful amber eyes. But she had a human-like body, with hands and feet instead of hooves. She wore a violet dress that was plain aside from a white mark of the Delta Rune.

“Yes,” he said, not sure if he should move. “What happened?”

“You passed out while I was praying for my daughter,” she said. “I'm sorry, I was so concerned about her that I didn't realize you were hurt that badly. Still, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for letting me know how to give her peace at last.”

So she was taken care of. Good. Although, he doubted the remnant was gone for good. It still had claim on his soul. “It's okay, I wanted to help her too.”

“Can you get up and walk?” she asked. “I could take you home to rest better, but my place is a fair distance from here.”

“I'll see,” he said, sitting up first to see how he handled it. She kept a hand near him, ready to support him if needed. The gesture caused him to feel... something. Like his heart shifted, ached for something he couldn't think of. Looking up at her, she seemed sad, but she smiled a little for him. “Um...” what did he say about this?

“Oh, I am Toriel Myrrh,” she said. “I'm the caretaker of the Ruins, this place you've come to. Not that there's much here, but humans like you sometimes fall in from up there. I check this place often, although it's been a long time since one of your kind has come.”

He managed to get to his feet then, although he felt unsteady and had to take Toriel's hand. There it was some warmth in his soul trying to break out of the corruption. If so, perhaps this was a good thing. “The whole forest around the mountain is forbidden, for the most part,” he said. “Um, I, uh...”

“Ah, well,” she patted a pocket in her dress where the booklet he'd given her was. From the funeral this afternoon, but it was the only thing he had which would have the final rites described. “I hope you don't mind, but I glanced at this, so I know. You've been through a sad time lately, Francis.”

More in having to say goodbye to Jenna and Jackie than what she thought. Although, it had been rough to attend the funeral, and leave what might have been a nice loop with his actual family rather than with a foster family. “I didn't,” his throat seized up. What was he trying to express? Then something clicked in his mind. “Francis?”

“That's your name, isn't it?” Toriel asked. “Francis Elderbrook. It's in here.”

“That's my name,” he said, feeling dizzy at the realization. “Francis... but they called me Frisk mostly. My name was taken from me, but I got it back, I... sorry, I don't know...”

“It's okay, Frisk, I understand,” Toriel said, even though she didn't know the worst of his situation. Still, as she said it and put her arm around his shoulders, it felt so sincere that his eyes got watery. But he didn't quite cry. “You don't have to tell me if you're not ready. Still, you've come down here and there's no way for you to go back safely. But don't worry, I’ll take care of you. It's the least I can do for what you've already done for me.”

“Thank you,” Frisk said, even though that feeling of gratitude caused a fight in his soul between the corruption and the emotions that were trying to break free.

Something in her words make me feel... LOVE 18 > LOVE 17

* * *

Frisk had barely been with her a day and Toriel could already see that he was truly a bright child. When they found that some of the puzzles had automatically reactivated, he quickly grasped the solutions, even to the perspective spiral. He wasn't talking a lot, but when he did, he had an excellent vocabulary for an eight-year-old. This morning, she'd let him pick out a book to read while she went to the old city to pick up groceries. He went right for a lengthy history book, The First Century of the Kingdom of Monsters.

Still, he was unnerving at points. He rarely looked right at her. When he did, there was a harshness to his hazel eyes. He was calm now but that look implied that he could quickly gain the intent to be dangerous, even kill. He was almost cold and too rational given that he'd lost his family so recently, although perhaps that was simply his way of coping. Plus, there was a constant struggle with his soul, something she couldn't explain but sensed when it got strong and she was close by.

What was really going on with Frisk? Toriel considered it while she walked to the old city. It was known that monsters who gained a LOVE rating of 7 or higher had drastically altered personalities. While it wasn't always the same, some behaved in a dispassionate way like this boy. Many who got that high ended up executed by the royal guard or the judges, special monsters who kept the underground safe from those who snapped. But some could be saved by salvaging their soul from corruption. How was that done? And how did the judges decide who could be saved and who couldn't? They kept their secrets close.

Maybe caring about him was enough. Her offer to take him into her home had been enough to knock his LOVE down. And the struggle she felt might be him trying to save himself. In that case, her caring would be helping.

The old city wasn't far from her home and her destination right on the edge. Other buildings had fallen out of disrepair and disuse, or had come down in the infrequent earthquakes. However, there was a grocery store here that she and other monsters in the Ruins were keeping in good shape. It could still provide food and other goods, making it a vital resource to the tiny community separated from the rest of the kingdom. But the other monsters in here weren't strong or creative enough to hold a true marketplace, with only the spiders making a small effort to sell baked goods and crafted drinks. The spiders didn't have much of an imagination either, which often made her wonder where they got their ideas.

The grocery store was sufficient for her needs. As soon as she got in, the few monsters running the place went quiet, then carried on their jobs with extra vigor. She was used to it by now, although she still excused herself for causing them to be nervous. Inside the store, there were a few rows of shelves and cold containers to keep basic ingredients and common goods. Eggs, bread, milk, butter, flour, some ready made foods... loads of honey, fruit, and veggies thanks to the Whimsun and Vegetoid populations. Also loads of mealworms and bugs thanks to the Froggit and spider populations. Toriel didn't mind adjusting her diet to match what was available, but having a human child around changed things.

Off in a separate room, there was a large device made up of magical crystals linked in a double helix inside a glass shaft. They were a rainbow of colors, shifting and glimmering as they slowly spun around. A Vegetoid in a striped apron and hat was spinning around in the operator's chair, but stopped immediately on seeing her come in. “H-hi T-T-Toriel,” it said, its chair slowly winding its last rounds. “Um, well you know, so, um, go ahead.”

“It's okay,” she said, waiting for it to hop out of the chair dizzily before she went over to the console. “As long as you're being peaceful, I won't disturb you all.” Even with that reassurance, she knew they were all still intimidated by her power. Most of the monsters who had remained here were weak and slow types who were intimidated by even the average monster, the exceptions being the gang of Loox she often had to rebuke for picking on the others.

Magic had to be strongly convinced to become something that lasted and could be interacted with. This was most often seen with foods, as a lack of convincing would create a dish that was insubstantial, bland, or even nauseating. Because of this, the best way to convince it was to start with basic ingredients and go through a process to create a dish. This food crafting device was the beginning, forming magical energy into the basic ingredients. Toriel had programmed in much of this device's inventory, and a good portion of it only she ever crafted.

Like cinnamon sticks. She'd asked Frisk this morning if he preferred cinnamon or butterscotch while trying to decide on a treat to make him. While he'd said he liked butterscotch more, he liked cinnamon too. Much of the rest of the recipe she could pick up among the standard groceries, but she crafted a few other foods that she'd seen the other human children like so that he had plenty to choose from for meals.

The Whimsun at the cashier counter squealed and stammered trying to record her purchases. After her words to calm it down failed to work, a braver Vegetoid had to come over to finish the job. There wasn't an economy here because this was the only store (aside from the seemingly perpetual spider bake sale), but Toriel gave them some clothes she'd sewn as payment. It seemed to make the little monsters happy, given that she often caught sight of them wearing those clothes.

Back home, she found Frisk still absorbed in reading the history book in the chair she'd brought out of storage to put into the living room. Not like her own son; she smiled a bit recalling how Asriel and Chara had often run around the large castle in New Home, playing games that only made sense to the two of them and going on pretend adventures. It was also a contrast to how Chara had been yesterday. But no, she was at peace now. It wouldn't do any good to get lost in worrying and wondering how she'd gotten to be in that state as a ghost. She should be back to playing with Asriel now.

That was good, meaning she could focus on her tasks now. Making a pie through magic had lots of steps, lots of places to mess up. But if one could successfully do so entirely through magic, it was considered a mark of cooking mastery. First, the crust. This one should be flaky and crisp, sturdy to contain the filling and not too sweet to compliment it. Mix up the dough, roll it out evenly, shape to fit the pan... then she levitated the pie tin up a couple inches off her hand and gave it a quick burst of flames underneath. That would make sure the bottom crust was good and wouldn't leak.

Then the filling. This was going to be a butterscotch cinnamon pie, which meant heating a butter and sugar mix into butterscotch. But not to where it would make a hard candy instead. With a few other ingredients, plus grating one of the cinnamon sticks into the mix, it took on a consistency of pudding. That was what she wanted.

Now to put it all together. Pour the butterscotch cinnamon mixture into the bottom crust, which was still a bit warm but that was fine. Toriel gave it a few quick taps to make sure large air bubbles got out of the mix, then topped it with the other half of crust. If she heated it like this, the top crust would burst apart, so some slits for steam to escape were needed. She poked out a pattern of a flower on top, then lifted the pie tin again for baking. This was a longer lower burn, save for some thin flames near the top to make sure the crust was entirely baked. The thin flames had to be called away at the right moment, timing it so that the crust had a nice browning but nothing was burnt. There, that looked to be a good one.

“What are you doing?” Frisk asked as she set it down. He was standing in the doorway, looking more at the counter than at her. “I heard you singing.”

“I like singing when I cook and bake, it makes everything come out nicer,” Toriel explained, setting the pie down on a hot pad. “Do you like to sing?”

An expression that might be disappointment crossed his face. “Last time I tried to sing, I made a milkshake explode.”

She ended up chuckling before she caught herself. “That's quite an accident.”

“I guess it is funny looking back at it,” he said, although his voice was as monotonous as before.

“It is. Well, I thought we might celebrate your arrival a little by making you a butterscotch cinnamon pie. What do you think?” She hoped he'd like it, but it was going to be hard to tell unless he said something.

“It smells really good,” Frisk said.

“Good, good.” She went over and motioned him out of the kitchen. “But it'll take a while cool down, so we should discuss some things in the meantime. You seem like a smart child, but if you need help with anything, I'd be happy to teach you. Actually, I've always wanted to be a teacher, but my neighbors around here are not,” how did she put this nicely? “They're not the most studious sort.”

They went over to sit in the chairs by the fireplace. Frisk seemed to be thinking the offer through. Maybe he was self-conscious of his knowledge? Toriel had been able to read the other children readily, but not this one. “I haven't attended school in a while,” he finally said. “I surpassed their expectations and took on self-study instead. Do you know much about the barrier?”

That didn't surprise her at first, but his question about the barrier did. “Not really,” she admitted. “I wield magic mostly in domestic ways, so it was beyond my knowledge.”

“I guess I don't know much about how you'd wield magic in domestic ways,” Frisk said. “I learned some about magical cooking, but haven't gotten good at it. And, I don't really know much about monsters even though I’ve been classified as a second rank wizard with a Delta Rune acknowledgment.” His eyes briefly glanced at her, noting that she was puzzled at his words before looking away again. “There's twenty-one ranks to being a wizard and the first rank is right below acknowledgment of mastery. And anything that denotes me as a wizard like a cloak is marked with the Delta Rune because I have working knowledge of that classification of high magic.”

What kind of magic could he wield with such a description? She was curious, and intimidated because human wizards were supposed to be incredibly powerful. But, she had to keep such intimidation to herself; she didn't want to alienate him. “That certainly sounds impressive, you could probably teach me some things then. I could teach you all about us monsters, no problem. Domestic magic too if you really want, I mean, with that kind of accomplishment it's probably low class to you.”

“It'd be more useful than a lot of the things I know and am restricted to do,” he said. “The last war involving wizards was so devastating to the world that there's many laws to keep such conflict from happening again. Nowadays, any conflict involving magic-wielders is resolved through a showy competition rather than direct combat.”

“I imagine so,” Toriel said with a nod. Good, so humans knew how to hold back and chose to do so. “How about I teach you how to clean today? The house could use a thorough cleansing now that you're here.”

* * *

Loop 108 notes

Started LOVE 19 -Already down to LOVE 17, although putting what happened into words is a real struggle.

-Have my name back finally: Francis Elderbrook. I should be happy at such a major step forward, but there's this part of my mind that's thinking, really, that's the name I've been working so hard to get back? What were my parents thinking in naming me Francis and then giving me the nickname of Frisk? Not that I can ever ask them. Still, it's my name and with it, I’ve got a better grasp on my sense of self. That I can be thankful for.

-Put Chara to rest with help from her adopted mother Toriel; that's one child brought home. The remnant was defeated, but I don't think it's destroyed because I still feel violent impulses. Also, I got tripped up by a vine knotting itself around my ankle. I don't recall the remnant ever using vines before. New ability? Figure this out.

-Met the white dragon from the ruins area and I don't know how I misinterpreted Toriel as a dragon. She's more like a humanoid goat, not scary but she can get stern and wields magic impressively. Unless something else is the dragon, but I doubt it. She's sweet and caring, like a mother. It's odd, but my corruption reacts badly to her. Or maybe how I feel about her. Is that a good thing? I hope so.

-Although, she has a fair number of children's shoes, clothing, and toys in the bedroom she gave me even though she doesn't seem to be on the best terms with the other monsters in the Ruins (they flee the area any time we leave the house). Did she try to care for the lost human children who came here? Or did she kill them herself? The latter seems like a possibility, yet I had to deal with that door through brute force magic and the other six souls are way on the other side of the underground. I want to believe that she tried to care for them.

-Hang on, this place, why does the entry room look so much like room I passed through in the castle where I talked with Asgore last? Is it an architectural fashion here? Or is this really the old castle in the old capitol Home referenced in the history book?

-Also, if I mistook Toriel so badly, what in the world is Sans really like? I don't know if I want to know, because that would mean meeting him face to face when I know that he keeps records of the time loops. If I can get through this without ever talking to him again, that'd be great.

* * *

Frisk was reading again, getting through the first history volume at an impressive rate. He also grasped it nicely and would discuss the events with her. What would happen when he stumbled onto mention of her in a later volume? She didn't really want to talk about those times, but maybe he would understand. Or maybe being open about herself would encourage him to open up about himself. She'd just have to see.

For now, she let the boy be and went downstairs. It was the right time, although she'd missed a few days helping Frisk adjust. It should be okay, the young man should understand. Sometimes he didn't show up for a few days in a row himself, although he had more excuses for being gone. Hopefully, Frisk didn't come down here looking for her. Far enough along, cold winds chilled the floor and the lights worked less reliably. There was also the door that currently only opened one way, with a chair beside it.

Toriel kept her footfalls quiet, listening. There wasn't much to hear, so he might not be there now. Just in case, she knocked on the door. “Knock knock?”

There was a slight crunch of snow past the door before a voice replied, “Who's there?”

Smiling as she had a great one for this moment, she answered, “Lost.”

“Lost who?”

“A little friend called my mind, have you seen her?”

He thoroughly enjoyed that one, giving a good laugh before turning the act around on her with his own joke. It was an odd little friendship like she'd never had, exchanging jokes and laughs through the door, but it was a welcome thing in her life. A couple of years ago, she had come down here in a more depressed state of mind. She intimidated the other monsters in the ruins too much to make friends with them, those children that she connected to always ended up leaving her trying to find their real homes (failing horribly in that too), and the ruins seemed so small and stagnant. The other monsters didn't notice as they tended to short lives here, but it was her misfortune to have a long life.

With all that weighing her heart down, she had become indecisive on what to do. She'd been sorely tempted to leave the Ruins and find company elsewhere. Maybe even return... but she couldn’t do that. She didn't want to invalidate the reasons she had left. With what news came to her phone on the internet, nothing had changed. And there was familiarity here, reminders of better times. And worse times, to be honest. She'd nearly left a couple of times, getting to the door and hesitating before going, deciding not to go at all.

That one day, there was voice on the other side of the door. She couldn't make it out well until she was right next to the door, and then it didn't really make sense. Then there was a knock along with “knock knock” being said. That made it irresistible to speak up to ask who was there. And well, “dishes a very bad joke” was a good description of what happened, but it was such an unexpected thing that it was more hilarious than usual. Finding someone who shared her sense of humor was a welcome light in her life. He didn't want to exchange names or much personal information, but that was fine. It was still a good friendship that way.

After a few rounds, though, he actually said, “I was worried about you for a bit there, lady.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been busy,” she said, then put her hands to her mouth. Did she want to tell him what was going on? He had made that promise that once, so he'd probably be supportive. And dealing with Frisk was more of a burden than the other children, even the ones who tried to leave early.

“Something up?” he asked. “Dunno if I can be any help, but I'll hear you out.”

“Thanks. Well, you remember the last time we spoke seriously?” She got up out of the chair and paced around, though she'd have to watch where she spoke so he could hear.

“Did one of them show up?”

“Yes, but he's not like the others. He's intelligent and polite, seems to be a good child. But then, he has trouble expressing himself aside from making blunt statements, so I’m not sure what he's really thinking.” How much to say without making Frisk look too bad? “He also has a rating of LOVE 17 when you check him, but that's actually down a level from when I first saw him.” Or maybe that wasn't what she should say. “He seems good, and yet I can't be sure. It's not like I can consult a judge here, the others in the ruins are meek and non-combative for the most part.”

He was being quiet, which worried her. And when he spoke up, it didn't help. “I'm a judge.”

“You are?” she asked, turning to the door in surprise. That was the last thing she'd expect to hear out of her door friend.

There was a soft thump against the door, like he was leaning against it. “Not an active one, cause of some stuff that happened, but they can still call me up if something bad goes down. Tell me, does his soul seem calm or conflicted?”

“Conflicted,” she answered, bowing her head. “It gets pretty bad at points, even distracting him while reading. He doesn't sleep well either and insists on keeping the door partly open.”

“Do you see him emoting much?”

“No, but he tries. Like his lips will twitch trying to smile and he's nearly cried a time or two. Never does fully.”

“Hmm. What about his eyes, do they seem normal?”

Now what to say? “Sort of? They're a normal color, hazel. But he won't look right at me most of the time and when he does, well I'm trying not to be unsettled by him. I was hoping that if I accepted him as he is and cared about him, then he might get better.”

“That helps when the subject wants to be redeemed.” After a pause, he added, “It sounds like he does, that's a good sign. You do need to keep calm and accepting around him, but don't be afraid to be firm if he seems like he might hurt himself or others. Be a good example and find productive things to work with him on.”

“That's good, I've been helping him with his cooking, and teaching him to sew.”

“Sounds like you've got it then. But, it's mostly an internal struggle until he can trust you enough to talk about what he's going through. Not much more you can do until then.” There was a crunch of snow again, maybe him not leaning to turn to the door. “If you want, I can get a book for you that has some more information.”

Toriel put her hand on the door, ignoring the chilly metal. “Aren't you not supposed to let that kind of information out? I don't want to get you in trouble.”

“Don't worry, there's some books we don't mind lending out to folks like you who are trying to help others avoid having to deal with us. And really, if doing this means I don't have to get called on for that job later on, it's worth it.”

“Thanks, that would help a lot sir.”

“Don’t mention it. I'll, uh, I’ll leave a package outside the door when I get it, if that works for you.”

“That's fine.”

* * *

The room at the very end of the underground was quiet, just a steady patter of the thin waterfall coming down through the barrier. The patch of golden flowers sat under the patch of sunlight, faint due to clouds far overhead. Among the blossoms, a single flower was bent over with its face towards the ground instead of looking hopefully up at the sky. They were long-lasting blooms that took time to wilt, but this particular bloom had lasted much much longer than the rest.

The quiet was broken with a sigh, the stillness broken with the odd flower out lifting its blossom and looking up with the others.

“You're finally gone, huh?” the flower spoke, showing a true face now. Dark eyes winced at a shift in the clouds, then turned aside to escape the brightness. “Yet I feel...” he snickered at himself, shaking his petals. “No, nothing. There's no way I can win after all. Suppose I shouldn't be surprised, at least I tried. But I was looking forward to you beating the hell out of him.”

Now what? He'd considered beating up Frisk himself. But no. That hadn't worked in the past, not even at his most powerful. You might win against him, but then time would be rewound to fight the battle again. You might win again, and keep winning, but eventually, he'd figure you out and you'd lose, never getting the chance to win again until the next loop. It happened to everyone that fought Frisk. Although when the human was motivated, usually you didn't win at all.

If you wanted to beat Frisk, you had to be very clever about it.

He focused and called out a brass orb that sometimes showed a clock face warping inside. There was a crack in it. “Grr, why won't you work properly? I could do so much more if I could go backwards again, wouldn't have to rely on such slow plans anymore. Or on souls, they're so fickle.”

“They remember their conscience too much,” a familiar voice twisted to something darker said nearby.

The tiny flower jerked around, recalling his chronograph before it got taken. Towering over him was that shadow that had sprouted in Chara's heart. A remnant, as Frisk had called it. But, it looked different now. More defined; like its voice, its shape was twisted to something darker. It reached out to touch one of his petals with its long spiny fingers, making the flower shudder at remembering something.

“But they're humans,” the remnant said, withdrawing its hand and trembling in hateful rage. “Humans must suffer, they must be destroyed. Their conscience must be destroyed, awakening the cruel vengeful spirit within. Where are those souls?!”

Listening, the flower got an idea. It was probably unwise. But, it could be fun. It'd be different, that was for sure. Putting on a brave face and smiling, he said, “I know where they are, buddy. I haven't been able to get to them myself. But if we work together, perhaps something can be done.”


	6. The Book Fair

loop 801

papyrus had a nightmare of past loops and the dream stuck around. it was harder to convince him to calm down and ignore them. my own dream was pretty bad but it just reminds me of how far removed i am from that reality.

-the human anomaly has come back, staying with the door lady for now. can't help but worry if i’ll never hear from her again. then again, the kid's down to 17 now, apparently was 18 when he met her. he really has been working at that. now i’m obliged to help her out with helping him out. but if this does change things, some work could smooth the process out.

-also, i asked about eyes and she said they were a normal color, haysull. can't figure that one out, does she mean yellow like hay? maybe the door lady is good at crosswords too if she knows words that i don't.

* * *

After jotting down his thoughts in a journal, Sans scanned over his home. His brother was down in the living room, watching TV. Good. He left his room and appeared by the front door, just missing being spotted in doing so. “Papyrus, I need to make a quick jaunt to New Home.”

“Can't you come down the stairs like a normal person?” Papyrus said, slapping his forehead with a bony thonk.

“Didn't want to block the signal,” Sans said. “Want anything?”

He shrugged, going back to watching the game show where Mettaton was asking rapid fire spelling questions. “Would you pick up lunch then? Just not any of your greasy fast food.”

This wasn't right. Papyrus had insisted on cooking every meal since he'd started lessons, even though it usually spaghetti that took hot sauce for Sans to find halfway decent. Although when it was quiche, he found himself wishing it was spaghetti because not even hot sauce could save that quiche. Looking at him now with the light of the television shifting around him, he could see the way Papyrus was slouched, the duller look in his eyes. His eyes were shifting to the clock, keeping a thought to work, but not as enthusiastic.

Well, even Papyrus had his limits. They'd been sentries here for several years and nothing happened. Flits of knowledge suggested that either the human came early (and killed immediately) or not at all, the latter situation requiring something to bump him out of this slump. “Want to come with?” Sans offered. “I’ve got to pick up a book, so you could look for a cookbook. Show some initiative, you know.”

“Unlike you most days?” Papyrus said, but he did sit up at that. “Initiative would be good, yeah, that'd really impress Undyne. All right! As long as we're not up there all day, let's go! But can we take the ferry? Your shortcuts are unsettling.”

They could be there and back within an hour without the ferry as long as they stuck to the business of just getting the book and lunch. But to keep Papyrus' spirit up, “All right, if you insist on take the long walk from a short pier, I’ll try not to get worn down to the bone doing so.”

The television shut off and Papyrus groaned as he got out of the green couch. “Put your pun energy into walking and you won't.”

After spotting Dogeressa and letting her know that they'd be taking up sentry duty later than usual, the two skeletons headed up towards the river. Papyrus clanged the bell there. A couple minutes (of puns) later, a long wooden boat glided smoothly into place. “I hope it is a good day and not a bad day,” the cloaked river person said. They were always in that cloak and no monster knew what the river person really looked like.

“It's a good one except for the puns,” Papyrus said.

They chuckled and waved them on. “Come aboard, come aboard. Where would you like to go?”

“Hotland,” Sans said as he got in, since this river couldn't reach New Home.

“All right.” They looked off to see if anyone else might come, then took their oar and pushed away. “To Hotland we go.”

“Got any pearls of wisdom for us?” Papyrus said. While the river person was mysterious, they were renowned for a curious way of rambling that sometimes was incredibly on point, and sometimes was completely insensible.

“Hmm, wisdom?” they asked, keeping the boat in a steady course as they entered the Waterfall area. “I am not wise, I simply repeat what I have heard. But I heard something interesting recently. Listen. A person who introduces themself as humble is not who they present themself to be.”

“That sounds pretty wise to me,” Papyrus said, impressed.

“If you meet someone who is pretty wise, do you treasure the wise part or the pretty part?” the river person asked. “And if you meet someone who is pretty pretty, are they exceptionally pretty or just a bit more pretty than average? I think it'd be harder to find someone with wise wisdom, easier to find foolish wisdom. Fools and wise men, what's the difference really?”

“Wait, now you're confusing me,” Papyrus said, his eyes squinting in a frown.

“I think they're just being a wise ass,” Sans said, winking at his brother.

“Takes one to know one,” the river person said. Which made Papyrus laugh, so he had to accept that one gracefully.

By the time they got to Hotland, Papyrus was in a better mood already. He skipped up the stairs. “Nyeh heh heh, been a while since I've seen the capitol! It should be a fun time...” then he nearly stumbled near the top of the stairs when another pair came from the left. “Oh, hello Undyne! What a coincidence, running into you here!”

This was unexpected, Sans thought, looking up as Undyne put her hands on her hips. She was holding onto a jacket, opting for just a tank top and light pants in this searing heat. But at her side, there was reclusive little Alphys who hardly ever came out of the laboratory here. He hadn't even heard much from her in the past year, although there was a niggling sense of knowledge from other times that suggested she had a strong reason to keep out of the public eye. That same sense insisted that this wasn't very surprising. That was an annoying thing about being aware of problems with time, that he could know something and not know it at the same time.

“Yeah, what are you two doing here instead of being at your posts?” Undyne asked, more in a curious way than rebuking.

“We'll be back this afternoon,” Papyrus insisted. “Sans here wants to get a book from the capitol, so we're making an outing of it.”

“Oh, is, is this about the book fair?” Alphys asked, some interest getting her to speak up.

“No, but if the Regal Publishers have a booth there, it'd make this easier,” Sans said.

“They should,” she said, looking off in thought.

“What book fair, is there going to be amusement rides made of books?” Papyrus asked, rubbing his skull.

Alphys snorted a little laugh, but Sans explained, “Nah, it's just a big book sale at one of the open markets. Where is it?”

“Around the Royal Memorial Plaza, it's going to be only today and tomorrow,” Alphys said. “I was thinking of going, but...”

“Well okay then, let's go there instead,” Undyne said, turning from the stairs. “And can we just head on right now instead of standing around in this heat?”

“Oo, so a big book sale might mean there'll be lots of cookbooks?” Papyrus said, hurrying up the stairs to join the other two. “Wowie, I was just going to pick up one, but maybe I’ll find more.”

“You were going to look for cookbooks?” Undyne asked.

Papyrus nodded. “Yeah, cause I want to take initiative! Uh, but I wasn't going to stop taking lessons from you, I thought it'd be more fun with more recipes.”

Fortunately, she smiled. “That's a great idea! We'll see what's around.”

It took until they got into the elevator to head for the uppermost level of Hotland that Undyne thought to make sure they all knew each other. “So guys, this is my friend Alphys, the Royal Scientist. And, these two are some of my friends from Snowdin, Papyrus and Sans.”

“Nice to meet you Alphys, I hope we can be friends too!” Papyrus said, offering a hand without hesitation.

Alphys accepted it, although she was still in a nervous defensive position. “Ye-yeah, good to meet you too.”

“And good to see you again,” Sans said to her.

“It has been a while since we talked face to face, um,” Alphys fiddled with her fingers, so Sans gave her a handshake too.

“What, you two know each other?” Papyrus asked.

“Really?” Undyne asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh, we studied together, sort of?” Alphys said, trying to figure out how to word it.

“Back in college and some early work, yes,” Sans admitted. “It's complicated.”

“Yeah, hard to put to words,” she agreed.

For some reason, Papyrus gasped. “Wait, were you two dating in college?”

“No!” Alphys said in a hurry, trembling.

“Nah, not like that,” Sans said.

“Aw, that's no fun,” Papyrus said. After a moment of quiet (save for the ding of the elevator arriving), he asked, “So what kind of book are you after, Sans?”

“Something for a friend, since she can't come here to get it,” he said, although he suspected that the door lady could leave the Ruins if she wanted. Since she didn't, he wasn't going to bother her with asking why. “It's a scholarly thing that has limits on publication, so I can only deal with that one publisher to get it.”

“Well that's nice,” he said, not interested until a thought occurred to him. “Wait, are you dating someone now? Why didn't you tell me?”

“No, it's not like that,” Sans said, half-amused at this. “She's just a friend.”

“Sure, that's what you want us to believe,” Undyne said, grinning a bit and poking his skull.

“So who is this?” Papyrus asked, curious and maybe concerned.

“Just a lady I like to exchange bad jokes with, that's all,” Sans said.

“Well that's not much to build a friendship on,” he said.

Alphys furrowed her brows. “Wait, if you just exchange jokes, why are you getting a scholarly book for her?”

“Cause she can't come here to get it herself,” he said again.

After a wait in the MTT-Resort for a city elevator, they transferred to the plaza where the book fair was being held. There was a thriving varied marketplace around the small park at Royal Memorial Plaza. It was all books today: fiction, non-fiction, comics, joke books, puzzle books, journals, old magazines, new magazines, encyclopedias, fanworks, self-help, cookbooks, rare pieces from the human world, any and all kinds of books. Seeing that, he felt it was a good if brief respite from what was going on.

The Regal Publishers booth was of a good size, but mostly quiet since it focused on references, history books, and official documents. In reflection of its works, it was somber with a dark purple and black striped shade, with just a bright white Delta Rune on a wooden board marking who they were. It was easy enough for Sans to get the other three distracted in a nearby booth full of cookbooks in order to go over alone.

The worker who greeted him was an earth elemental, looking like a doll made of malleable clay that kept shifting. Despite this, he was dressed in a black suit. “Do you need any assistance?” he asked in a lightly condescending tone while his brown eyes disapproved of his sloppy manner.

“Yeah, need a special order,” Sans said, pulling his wallet out for the card that identified him as a judge. The main other way to prove that was through his magic and this wasn't the place for that. “A civilian guide to reforming high LOVE persons, for a case I’m following.”

After making sure it had the magic seal that matched him, the elemental nodded with a squelch of clay. “Very well, you have a proper order form?”

“Got it here,” he said, following up with the slip of paper. That had taken some work last night. Due to the nature of the case, the only files on it were in his unreliable memory, in a broken chronograph that gave sparse information, and in a more reliable set of drawers that made sure its contents persisted. Although, a good portion of what was in those drawers was now gibberish and he never felt like going through all of it to figure it out. Still, Sans could manipulate time in limited ways, which got him the order form cleared to avoid bureaucracy.

And the order form got the copy with little expense, once the worker got it out of their store's box storage.

* * *

Alphys had planned on coming to the book fair, although not as obvious as she was now in her lab coat. She'd planned on some kind of disguise, maybe a hat, maybe glasses, just something so that nobody could recognize her at this large gathering. Then early this morning, Undyne had called. She had been unsettled by a dream, which was strange in many ways. Undnye remembered it fairly well, she remembered dying in it a couple times, and then she was unsettled by it all. At all other times, she was brave and stalwart, but this dream made her call out for company. And then there was Alphys' own dream to consider.

Because of that call, Alphys agreed to hang out with her today, inviting her over to the lab to talk. They'd ended up watching some anime to get their minds off bad dreams, then deciding to poke around the dump to see what was around. And then Sans showed up with his brother and now they were all up in crowded New Home to check out the book fair. Strange how things worked out sometimes. Alphys just hoped that no one would recognize her and start asking questions.

“Psst, hey Alphys,” Undyne said, coming up from behind her.

She tensed before realizing that the noise of the crowd swallowed up the name before anyone else could hear. Thankfully, she hadn't torn the monster-made comic she'd been skimming over. “W-what?”

Undyne seemed serious right then. “There's something over there, among the human books in the next booth. You've got to see it.”

“Uh, sure,” she said, wondering if this was some jest or if she was being dramatic for some reason.

While this booth had interested Alphys, she had tried not to show it and act too nerdy around Undyne. That didn't seem like something that would impress her. The booth was run by someone she knew through UnderNet, although not in person. For the most part, those who were comic book fans in the underground were fans of works by other monsters. But there was a small yet strong fandom for human comics and mangas, part of the slightly larger group that was interested in human media in general. This person often bought, sold, and lent human books; Alphys knew him because she could sell manga translations to him to distribute to other fans.

The thing Undyne wanted to show her was a box with twelve volumes of a manga inside. As human relics and goods came in through the Waterfall dump area, the box understandably had old water damage. However, a sealed plastic bag had kept the books dry and in better condition than usual. This wasn't something she had translated, she knew right away. She could also see why Undyne was interested: the volume pulled out for display showed some characters, including one in a black hooded cloak that had a white Delta Rune on the left side of the torso.

“That's almost like the human from the dream I had,” Undyne said, definitely serious about this. “Except this one doesn't have glowing eyes and I think the colors aren't right. But he definitely had that kind of cloak on.”

“I know,” Alphys said, feeling a flutter of fear just at the picture. She'd seen a figure like this wielding an unbelievable range of magic, slaughtering any monster that crossed its path. Any, even... no, that had been a dream. Undyne was here. “Maybe the cloak is something special? And I don't know what the Delta Rune means to humans.”

Undyne shrugged, picking up another of the books to check through it. “We don't know. But I saw this and I realized, if it wasn't in this weird language, we might learn a lot about that aspect of humans. So if this human is trying to mess with us by sending nightmares before he comes, we can take back control by knowing what he's capable of with these books!”

Unless these were fictional and not factual, Alphys thought. But still, wouldn't there be grains of truth in the fiction? “Maybe.” She took a closer look inside and recognized some text immediately. “This does look to be Japanese, so I can translate it.”

“You should so we can be better prepared,” Undyne said, setting down the book she had to check the price. “Huh, says this set is negotiation only.”

“That's because I was looking for the underground's translator,” the booth manager said suddenly, popping out from behind the table. He was a lizardman; a natural frilled collar of pale yellow and white was held down around his thin shoulders. Leaning over the table to look at her, he added, “So you must be Mew_Cutie_Blues, nice to meet you in person.”

Alphys felt a chill at the acknowledgment of her online persona. What if he connected her to her real name? “Uh, hi, yeah, n-nice to meet you. Darkmatterbomb, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, of course. I was going to contact you immediately when I acquired this set, but it was just yesterday and I figured you'd probably be at this book fair.” He took another of the books. “This is really something unique, never seen references to it in other mangas. Usually, there's some ads in the back that we might be able to connect to other series we've found, but this set, well just look,” he turned to the end few pages.

After frowning at it, she opened up the book she had to the back and found the same thing. “No ads, but,” there were around a dozen pages of just white text on a black page. “A commentary? Wow. Where'd you get this?”

“It was in an estate sale of goods that had been in a personal dimensional box of a rather solitary monster,” the lizardman said. “The bag had been opened, but was taped back up and the whole box was put in a set labeled 'junk'. Actually, I wouldn't have even gone to the estate sale if I hadn't been tipped off that there were some human books involved. I'm really curious to know what this series is about because how many times do we manage to get an entire series of manga in one box? If it's the whole series, you're the only one who can translate out of Japanese.”

“Um, yeah,” Alphys said, although that was due to a lucky find of a translation software CD when she was young. “But you're right, this is a real treasure.”

“And a really good information source on humans,” Undyne added.

“Very likely,” she said. Because even if this story was fictional, the mere fact that it had a commentary section put it as more informative than most mangas. “What price do you want on it?”

He smiled at her. “You know, the usual. You translate it and let me be the seller.”

Alphys smiled back. “Of-of course, thank you. It'll take me a while to get through all twelve of these, but I'll work through them.”

* * *

This was such an amazingly lucky day, to come to the capitol on an errand and end up in a huge book sale! But no, he had to keep limits on buying. Since Sans took care of all the expenses and keeping track of their finances, Papyrus only had what his brother had given him before they left their home. Anything more and he'd have to ask Sans to buy it. But that led to the problem of what books to buy.

There were just so many here, more than he thought possible. Even when he limited his browsing to cookbooks and puzzle books, there was a lot to choose from. He could discount crosswords and sudoku books because those were boring, as well as any cookbooks that didn't have pictures (because what was the worth of any book without pictures?). So far, he'd bought one, 'A Monster Scout's Guide to Cooking', since it looked very informative and had nice drawings. And the Monster Scouts were a great group dedicated to teaching kids how to be responsible, so it was good to support them.

Leaving the Scouts' booth, Papyrus glanced around and didn't see right off where his brother or friends were. Where had they gone? Alphys seemed so nervous, but if she was with Undyne, then she had nothing to fear. And Sans was probably looking for crossword books. Or joke books, although he wouldn't try to improve his sense of humor at all. There wasn't much to worry about, Papyrus thought. Sans at least would pop up unexpectedly when it was time to grab lunch.

Lunch. It was probably a good idea to look around and see what there was to eat around here, rather than leave it up to his brother and end up in some greasy burger joint. There were some booths around that were selling food instead of books, clustered in a group so that their cooks didn't accidentally set fire to the books. If they ate over there, there'd be a number of choices. But would the tables be clean enough?

Papyrus was going over to see when a small booth caught his eye. It was just a table with a black tablecloth, a cluster of vibrantly illustrated books, and a simple wooden chair for the seller. In contrast, the seller, a goat monster with pale blue fur, was wearing an ornate shawl with many magical runes on it, a lacy black dress, and many pieces of golden jewelry. There was something odd here that he couldn't pin down in his mind. As some other customers left, he went over to see what she was selling.

“Hello young fellow,” she said... except her voice seemed almost masculine in its depth.

“Hello m'am... sir, uh, sorry,” Papyrus rubbed his head. “You're a bit confusing.”

“I know, I’m both. Use either, or neither, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just a humble demon who happens to have a hobby in writing.”

Something about their word choice reminded him of earlier. “Hah, got you now!” he said, pointing at them. “Someone who introduces themselves as humble is not who they present themselves to be! You can't be a demon, you're just a goat that likes to confuse people.”

Chuckling at that, they gave a small bow. “Ah, you got me there. I'll let you in on my name for that: Baphomet. And, these are some little stories that I've written and illustrated. But I’m afraid this is my first time selling my works, so I tried to be fair in being unknown.”

“Ah, hello Baphomet, I'm Papyrus,” he said, offering a handshake that was graciously accepted. Then he glanced down at the prices and was surprised. “Huh, 3 to 5 gold? Uh, that's really low compared to others I’ve seen around here.”

“Well they are little,” they said, picking one slim book up and offering it to him. “And I'm not well known. I just want to get the word spread, see what people think.”

“So what're they about?” Papyrus asked, taking the book and checking it out. The pictures were really nice, one opposite each page of words.

“They're my takes on ancient myths of monsters and humans,” they said. “The myths themselves aren't often told, to my surprise. And, well, there's a few original pieces I made based on the myths.”

“Well the pictures are great,” he said brightly, thinking that he should buy one or two to help out this new writer.

“Thank you,” they said with a small smile. Then they looked up at him thoughtfully. “You know, you seem like the kind of fellow that likes puzzles.”

If he wasn't a skeleton and therefore always smiling, he would have grinned at that. “Like puzzles? I love them! I'm actually a sentry in charge of Snowdin Forest and thus I get to make and adjust all the puzzles out there.”

“That sounds like a wonderful job. Well if you like puzzles, there's one of the myths you might really like...” they carefully shifted through the stacks. “Now, that was...”

“What's up?” Sans said, appearing unexpectedly as Papyrus expected.

“This person is selling some really nice little books based on ancient myths,” he answered, giving him the book he'd been examining. “And they guessed that I like puzzles before I even said anything about them!”

“Really?” Although he sounded skeptical, he glanced through the book.

“Ah, here we go,” the seller said, handing him one of the larger little books. “This is a myth of a heroic monster traversing a deadly labyrinth full of puzzles. You might get some interesting ideas from it, or see how old some of the puzzle you use are.”

“That sounds awesome!” Papyrus said, looking at the cover. There was a horse-like monster (a centaur, right?) standing in front of a huge confusing... “Hey wait, that's a maze.”

“A labyrinth is a specific kind of maze,” they pointed out.

“Oh, I see.” This was one of the more expensive books, but considering that the expense was just five gold, a third of the price of the Scout's cookbook, that seemed like a great deal.

“Where do you find these myths?” Sans asked, setting the book back on the table.

“I have to hunt out a lot of them in old library books,” the seller said. “These books aren't popular, so they're normally not out with the other books. Such a shame, which is part of the reason I decided to make these versions. And, hmm, you there,” they pointed a finger at Sans and smiled like they recognized something, “you take notes even if you don't do anything with them.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sans asked, more seriously than his other questions.

They put their fingertips together in a cool thoughtful pose. “And you ask questions as if you can't help yourself. Heh, I like people like that. Are you good with cryptograms? Because I've had an interesting one that I can't quite crack.”

“Cryptograms aren't that hard,” he said. “Just be aware of the frequency of letter use and it's no problem.”

They snapped their fingers and called out a small booklet, the size of a playing card with maybe ten pages. “The trouble is, I think there's multiple cryptograms in this one. Maybe it's a message, maybe it's just a game? I can't figure it out, so it's of no use to me. But if it's of use to you, I’ll part from it for free.” They offered it across the table.

When Sans took it and opened it up, a strange look came to his eyes. Papyrus leaned over for a glimpse. It had strings of letters lined up like they could be sentences, but none of the words were words. But those normal letters alternated with lines full of weird symbols, including a bunch that looked like hands in various poses. “Where did you get this?” Sans asked.

They looked up in thought for a moment before answering. “Ah yes, it was when a friend dared me to solve a puzzle room in the Core. I got lost thanks to outdated instructions and ended up in a weird burnt out room. That was the only thing untouched in there. At the time, I thought I might get an explanation for the place with that potential message. But I decided to focus on spreading these myths and when I gave thought to it again, I couldn't find the room. My friend didn't even recognize the place when I described it.”

“That's weird,” Papyrus said. “I wonder what that all says.”

“I'll see what I can do with it,” Sans said. So he took the weird cryptogram and Papyrus bought the labyrinth book.

However, the weirdest thing of all didn't come until after they had lunch and Sans said he wanted to talk to the myth writer again. The weirdest thing was that they couldn't find that little booth and Papyrus couldn't remember the name he'd gotten.

* * *

“Ambition,” they said, tracing a pattern on the back of a book to replace one that had been sold. It was something the vast majority of monsters lacked, something born of determination. Not able to handle the potency that determination gave magic, monsters rarely got ambitious. They stuck to familiar tasks, familiar goals, familiar days... familiar grounds.

Now when the monsters joined efforts, they could get ambitious as a group. With one shared goal, they could get amazing things accomplished. This could be amplified by a strong element of determination among them, could be grown with that element staying with them. A human living among them could trigger monsters to start dreaming bigger. Start hoping wilder. Start changing in ways they'd never do on their own.

And, humans had varying levels of determination. They considered a certain level of spiritual corruption to be beyond redemption. It would require an almost inhuman level of determination in order to overcome that belief. In other times, throwing someone like that down here had been like setting off a bomb with the amount of death that resulted. But, that was because he'd moved quickly. When he stayed in place...

“This should be when things get really interesting,” Baphomet said, smiling in anticipation.


	7. Floodgate

Toriel's notes

I'll have to do something for my friend for getting this book to me so quickly. When he said he was a judge, I worried that he'd tell me to stay away from Frisk and not have him count for our promise. But no, he got me this excellent guide to helping high LOVE persons reduce their levels, a journal with matching pencils to record our progress, and even a new book of crossword puzzles. It's been a long time since I’ve had a good crossword to work on. Maybe I’ll leave some cookies out for him.

Well, the guide wants me to record signs of Frisk's personality as they show, as well as how he behaves. He's been well-behaved so far and nothing about him seems violent aside from the look in his eyes sometimes. But he seems aware of that and doesn't look me in the eyes often. He doesn't look at me often period, but maybe that's a sign that he's ashamed of how he is.

He is very intelligent, enough that he sounds a lot older than he is most of the time. Although, he reminds me of people who've studied a lot in schools and books, but doesn't have much practical experience. He wants to learn domestic tasks, for one thing. He also doesn't have much social experience, although I may be misinterpreting how the detachment that goes with a high LOVE interferes with him trying. While he speaks politely, asking please and saying thank you, he's also terribly blunt and I can see him thinking through interactions that most others would do naturally. He has a habit of running his fingers down the beaded choker he wears; I've yet to ask about that.

He does have one peculiarity that so far I haven't seen references to in the guide: he dislikes closed doors. He won't settle down to sleep unless the bedroom door is cracked. A few times, I've seen him open the front door and not go out, just to have it open. It's not a big deal since the monsters around here don't come near my home, although it bugs me a little to have it open. Oh, and this may be nothing, but I’ve had a feeling occasionally that one of the doors is broken off its hinges, but none are. It's only been since Frisk arrived and I’m not sure why

* * *

Toriel had been writing in her new journal when she heard a thump from the other side of the wall. It sounded like he'd fallen out of bed. Setting the pencil down, she got up from her desk chair and quietly left her room. The door to the child's bedroom was cracked open just as she'd left it, although she had a brief weird thought that it had just been launched across the hall in flames. Maybe it was because of what she'd been writing.

She knocked on the unbroken door and asked, “Frisk? Are you okay?”

When he didn't reply, she went ahead into the dark room. Frisk was sitting up on the floor, some of the blankets caught up in his legs. He was looking down and running his fingers along the choker. Had he even noticed her yet? He could focus so much on one thing, blocking out all else.

“Frisk, are you okay?' she repeated, leaning down and putting a hand on his shoulder.

That startled him into looking at her. He seemed afraid for a moment, but his usual impassive face soon returned. “Yes, I’m fine. Just, nightmares.”

She known children who would be crying and children who would deny waking from a nightmare, even one who had been trying to work up his bravery by the time she came to check. Never one before that would turn so calm so fast. It could be an act. “I see. Do you want me to leave you be then, or how about we go to the kitchen to get some warm milk?”

“I'm...” then he hesitated. Toriel helped him to his feet, then got the blankets back in place while he struggled through some thought. When Frisk spoke again, there was a new tone in his voice: a scared meekness like he expected to be rebuked for asking, “I-if it's okay, could we get some milk?"

“Of course, it's no trouble,” she said with a smile, finding it easier to speak soothingly in this moment he was acting like his age.

Frisk was quiet while they went to the kitchen in their pajamas and she found a pair of mugs to use. Heating up some milk was a simple task, she just had to use a gentle flame to heat it slowly. Since he had woken up from a nightmare and seemed troubled over something still, Toriel sang a lullaby while doing so, transferring some of its qualities into the drinks. That should help them both sleep soundly. Then she went back with him to sit on his bed while they drank it.

“What kind of nightmare did you have, if you don't mind me asking?” she said after a time of quiet between them.

He was clasping his mug in both hands, looking down into it when he wasn't drinking. “Some... people. Fighting. Lots of dangerous magic, flowers and bones, someone pleading for their life in fear but I, I can't really do anything about it. Then there's desolation of, um, nothing. Except a voice, it says I have nothing left to sacrifice of myself except, the one thing I should never give up.”

“Like your soul?” Toriel asked.

He went completely still at that. That was a frightening thing to dream about, although usually children didn't understand what that really meant. But then, he wasn't a usual child.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to bother you,” she said, patting his back.

For a minute, Frisk just focused on drinking the warm milk. As she was thinking that maybe she shouldn't hug him, he trembled. “Why are you so nice to me?”

“Why shouldn't I be?” she asked. He was done, so she set her mug and his on the bedside table. “You're a smart child, but you've been through a lot of bad things lately. Somebody's got to worry and care about you, so it might as well be me.”

“I've done bad things that would horrify adults,” Frisk said, some of his monotone restraint coming back. “Nearly everybody treats me with some measure of caution, like something that could explode because that's true and they can tell it. Why,” his tone faltered again, “not you?”

She hadn't read fully through the guide, but what she had read suggested being honest, especially with smarter people. “I can tell there's some danger in being near you,” she admitted, but put her arm around him. “But I can also see that you're fighting to be good. It's only been a short time that you've been here, but I believe you can be good. I know you can be. However tough it gets, don't give up.”

There was a small noise from him like he would start crying. But he didn't, he trembled again. He didn't even cry when she pulled him onto her lap and started singing softly to him, although he did hug her tight and didn't fight it. By the time he stopped trembling, he was asleep. Toriel tucked him back in bed, then took the mugs back to the kitchen before heading off to bed herself.

* * *

Frisk felt like a mess, but he couldn't explain it to himself. He tried taking a shower even though the mess was all in his head; that helped a little bit, not enough. When he tried to read, he couldn't focus on it and kept remembering things from all over the place. When he tried to figure it out, not even his own thoughts were coherent. His soul was so tense that it'd probably snap if he got in a battle. He'd been this way for a couple of weeks.

But he didn't feel even the least bit tempted to fight or be violent, not since he'd fireballed the bedroom door after that one nightmare and had to rewind a bit (and fall out of bed again) in order to undo it. All the violence was inside pulling his thoughts apart. Was it the remnant trying to destroy him for his chronograph?

It got worse around Toriel. But, she couldn't be doing this intentionally. She was too kind for that, at least he wanted to believe that. If she was doing this on purpose, it was insidious, using love to break his spirit.

Love? No, you couldn't use love for that kind of thing. Frisk hoped not, anyhow. A false love could. But Toriel was sincere. Maybe a bit delusional? Because she claimed Chara was her daughter, but Chara had died nearly a century ago in actual time. Or maybe her love was misplaced, taking him in as a son to replace her adopted daughter? A child...

A mother.

Frisk called out his chronograph and looked at it. At one point, it had been a shiny silver. Then it took on tarnished tones as his condition deteriorated. It looked like an old silver now, not polished but not as corrupted as before. It was very old as he was very old. But, he was a child too, and was going to have to repeat his teenaged years again. That was one of the worst things of this mess. Another was...

As his body shuddered from the conflict again, Toriel paused by his chair. “Oh, that's a pretty device,” she said, leaning by him. “What is it?'

“A chronograph,” he said automatically. “It appears with people who have power over time.”

“Then, you have power over time?” She put a hand over his.

There was always a feeling of fire being near her. But, a gentle fire, like she always kept in the fireplace. Frisk looked up at her and she didn't flinch. She hardly ever flinched, maybe his gaze wasn't as harsh? Or, maybe she cared so much? The words came from him like they needed to be said. “I can turn time backwards and redo things. But bad things happened, and, well, it's, it's been about a month that I've been here, right?”

“Just about,” Toriel said, not even having to think on that.

“It's been about a month since my family died,” he said, looking back at the chronograph. “Bad things happened and, I've been caught in a loop of time, running the same ten years over and over again. Maybe not the full ten years, but I come back here as a child and I never make it to being an adult. It's been hundreds of years for me since I've seen my family. It's...” his throat was tense and his eyes were watering, “it's been hundreds of years since anyone has c-cared about me like you, o-or m-my mother...”

He finally started crying.

My heart unlocked and there was so much pain. LOVE 17 > LOVE 12

* * *

Her jokes weren't coming readily today, her laugh not as strong. Standing out on the snowy road among the tall pines out here, Sans worried about her. “You sound tired today,” he said.

“I suppose I am,” she said. “More emotionally worn out than anything. The child has it worse than me, though.”

“Oh yeah? What's going on with him?” Technically he should have asked her that first, to keep up a record on Frisk. But that was work and he'd rather keep this light as it had been most of the time.

It took her a moment to put her thoughts together. “Well, it's good and bad. The good part is that he's down to LOVE 12.”

That got his attention. “Really? That's impressive.”

“He wants to be free of that, I'm sure,” she said, quick to the kid's defense. “The, well, bad part about that is that he made this major break by getting upset enough that he could cry again. Like the book said, he's been kept from crying for a long time. Once he got pushed past that, there's been a lot of pain for him to deal with that he couldn't feel fully before. And his family died, well...”

“What is it?” Sans asked when she went quiet.

“I'm not sure you'd believe me. But, he's got some power over time that's messed up somehow and he's been repeating the same ten years for a long time. His family died not that long ago, but from his perspective, they died very long ago. And with how detached he was, he was very alone. He managed to say that some of his progress is because he's intentionally defied the detachment. But that means he makes friends and then goes back ten years to where they forget about him entirely. With all those burdens, he broke down hard and it's draining trying to help him.”

“I believe you,” he said, already knowing about the time problems. Although he hadn't thought about how this all would be from the kid's perspective. He hadn't known Frisk had lost his family at all. He did know how it felt to know that all of your relationships would regress ten years eventually. Sometimes that made him feel so lonely to be facing that futility that he didn't want to make any new friends. Keep them all as acquaintances. But, that made one even lonelier. “You're strong in trying, at least I think so. And it sounds like you're really helping him by caring about him.”

“Thanks. And you're helping me, you know, just listening or joking.” There was a muffled sound, almost a laugh. “I could really use the levity while helping him sort through his heavy burdens.”

“I'm happy to make light of listening to you,” he said, making her actually laugh. Sans put a hand on the door. “But seriously, if you need an ear or a break from all that, I'm here for you, lady.”

There was a moment of quiet which made him realize what he'd just said. And know that he'd meant it. Had he ever felt so close to her before? He couldn't be sure due to memories of other times not being there fully, but a small voice in his heart didn't think so. What would happen when everything got rewound again? He'd forget again, but the feelings might linger. Maybe this was a mistake.

“I'm Toriel Myrrh,” she said, and he knew that was the first time he'd gotten her name.

If this was a mistake, there was no going back now. “I'm Sans Gaster.”

He took some time to tell a few jokes and make sure that meeting left off lighthearted, but then headed back home. His thoughts had turned to other things, leading Sans to look for the strange cryptogram message. When he'd first got it, he'd been unsure, especially when they couldn't locate the booth after lunch. Who had that monster been anyhow? The book that Papyrus had bought had no information on the writer, just a peculiar symbol. But the symbols in the cryptogram...

Most of his notes on time loops were downstairs in what he'd started to set up as a personal lab. A few of them were legible, but most had all the text replaced with nonsensical symbols. At least, it seemed like nonsense. There was a pattern to the symbols. But he'd never bothered to figure it out like a cryptogram. This cryptogram had symbols, some of which he recognized from the nonsense.

Taking a notebook at random, he checked to make sure it was one of the nonsense ones. It was, although the number '721' was untransformed. He then set the smaller cryptogram open on the notebook. Immediately, he spotted a number of similar symbols. Flipping through revealed other symbols, all in both documents. The cryptogram was not the riddle, it was the key to these old corrupt notes.

But what benefit was there in recovering them?

* * *

Memories

I checked back on my initial loop notes, which unfortunately I didn't get around to organizing by number until loop 6. At the very start, I did write down that a potential master in time magic had asked me to look into a place where magic is pure. I did not write down Baphomet's name or anything more about them. It's unclear what the mission was and why I kept going back into the underground. After all, my early notes make it clear that the monsters scared me. That was all before I let the loops last more than a year.

There was something I was searching for back then. Maybe the source for what makes the native magic around Mt. Ebott so powerful? But that's most likely because of the monsters that live there. The barrier tome and other ancient books note that areas where monsters lived in high numbers had a higher level of native magic and natural enchantments like the invisible ledges and such.

What do I remember and what can I draw out of my old notes?

I thought my sight had been skewed because of the corruption, but I don't think that's the case now. Case in point, I described the caretaker of the ruins as a white fire-breathing dragon even back before I numbered the loop notes. The only one who can be given that title is Toriel, who I no longer see as a dragon. And she doesn't breathe fire, although she obviously has excellent skill in fire magic. So why am I seeing her and the other monsters differently now? What's changed? And what started that in the first place?

Well, I think I know what started it. I've been able to recall meeting Baphomet, that they were the one who pointed me in the direction of the underground to prove myself. I might be able to recognize them if I see them again, maybe. But I distinctly remember that they put their fingers near my eyes during that meeting. At the time, I think I thought that it was a method of scanning. It may have been something to alter my perception, an enchantment that could have eroded away over so many loops. It might have even disappeared much earlier and my corruption continued the illusion.

I'm glad it's gone. It means I can see Toriel for who she is, a wonderful caring lady who means far more to me than any of my other foster parents have. While she treats me as different, it's less that I’m dangerous and more that I've become special to her. Sometimes she treats me like a child in the way she acts or speaks towards me, but instead of being aggravated at being judged on surface appearance, I can accept it from her. I'm even calling her Mom now, and it feels completely natural even though we're completely different beings.

When her caring opened up the floodgates of my emotions, she was patient with me, listening even when I wasn't making sense. She let me have time to think when I needed it, or she gave me simple tasks to keep me going when I was lost on what to do in figuring things out. It's been a year now that I’ve lived with her and my mind feels clear enough to take back up my work. Although, any time I think that I should be going, I feel really reluctant. I want to claim this last bit of childhood that I've always had to ignore.

And I think that Toriel wants me around as a child too. No, I know that. She lost Chara and while I don't remember our initial meeting all that clearly, I'm pretty sure that she mentioned another child that may have actually been her child. And there's lots of signs that she made contact with the other six human children and may have tried to care for them too, like she completely understood the trouble I had adapting to a diet of all magical foods. If she's cared for those children and they all died, then I understand. She doesn't want to lose another child and I don't want to lose another mother now that I can start to love her like a son.

I'm going to have to leave eventually, but not now.

Hang on, Chara was her adopted daughter, and she took care of the six other lost children I need to return home, but there might be a child that was hers that also died somehow. When I went to track down the lost children, I got eight tracking arrows. The eighth lost soul might be Toriel's child. Oh, but I don't remember what their name was and I really don't want to ask her about it. I mean, I'm supposed to bring the children back home, so I'm sure she won't have a problem with me trying to put her child to rest if they're another lost soul. But it's going to upset her if I just bring the subject up.

I have no idea how I'm going to ask her for her child's name. Maybe I should try other means of figuring out where they are and what happened to them. Anyhow, this file is supposed to be about my memories and trying to clear this all up. Though I'm glad I wrote that all down.

* * *

In a box on the table, there were about three dozen tiny handknit scarves and coats with eight sleeves. It was a project Frisk and Toriel had started months ago ever since he'd asked her and the spiders why the latter kept an eternal bake sale going on. The spiders couldn't talk, but it turned out that they could type. In a note they'd handed over, they explained that they weren't happy in the Ruins because they were cut off other spider clans. The only communications they had with the other spiders were through telegram messages, oddly enough. The bake sale was an attempt to raise money so they could cross the fields of Snowdin, which were deadly to spiders with the snowy cold climate.

Since Frisk was learning to sew and knit, making clothes for the spiders seemed like a good idea. They could barter the clothes for the treats. Although, Spider Cider and the baked goods were an acquired taste. Still good once they got used to it. This box was ready for another trip over to trade.

“Toriel?” Frisk called, coming into the hall with the stairs. “I got the dishes and some scarves done.”

There wasn't an answer, which worried him for a moment. Then he glanced at a clock and realized she was probably in the basement now. While she asked him not to go down there, Toriel went there regularly for some purpose she never explained. Frisk considered for a moment going down to look for her. But no, that was off limits. He didn't want to get into trouble.

Instead, he went back to another thought that he'd put aside. The spiders had telegram communications, but what about the rest of the underground? Toriel had an old cell phone, although she admitted that she'd used it very rarely. Did they have internet down here? Or could he access the human networks? He hadn't tried that yet.

Frisk went to his chair in the living room and got out his tablet to check. While he wasn't sure what to expect, his browser quickly got a connection signal. He checked a few sites that he'd saved and a few others he could think of quickly, but none of them came up. No access to human networks. However, the error messages kept bringing him to an unfamiliar search engine, Moogle. He put in a search there for news.

It brought up less than ten sites, all of which were unfamiliar to him. Snowdin Chronicles, Royal Herald, MTT-Network... these were definitely created by monsters. After checking a few, Frisk didn't find much for actual news. A human news site would have hourly updates, some even more frequent. News articles in the recent sections for these sites went back a full week, and a lot of it was fluff like a Weekly Crossword Rankings and a singing event in the capitol. But it might be interesting to browse regularly and see what was going on.

With the monster's internet confirmed, he went back to Moogle Search and checked for social sites. That could be a good view into how monsters interacted with each other, what they saw as important. There were a lot more results than for news sites, with the top suggestion being UnderNet. With the description claiming that everyone was on UnderNet in one way or another, it seemed like a place to start. Frisk clicked on the link before recalling that he was technically nine right now and might not be able to join.

That turned out not to be true. There was no age limit on UnderNet, just a reading and writing test to make sure that users were literate. There wasn't even a parental consent requirement. Instead, he got a message that he would be limited on what he could access there until he was thirteen. While it struck him as odd, Frisk went ahead and created an account. It could be useful.

When the form wanted a username, he gave it some thought. He didn't want to reveal himself as human too soon. That meant no pictures of himself for now and a vague description. On deciding that, it was easy to decide to use his old placeholder name Nevyn for UnderNet. It was something that had worked before in the underground when his name had been held hostage by the remnant, something for others to call him by. Now how to describe himself.

'I'm Nevyn, or no one as you might say. Jokes aside, I like to know things and read a lot, especially about magic and science. I'm probably boring with how serious and blunt I am, but I'm working towards being a better person.' That sufficed for now.

Toriel came upstairs, humming to herself. Frisk signed out of UnderNet and went to meet her. “I was just looking for you.”

“Oh, sorry, is there something wrong?” she asked, a little embarrassed at that.

“No, it's just that I got a few more spider scarves done and we've got enough to deliver,” he said.

Smiling and patting his back, she said, “Good, then let's go do that.”

* * *

The ferry person was in a singing mood today, their rich voice echoing in the enclosed passages of the river from Hotland to Waterfall. It made Alphys relax while riding along. Perhaps this would turn out to be a good day. Although, there were plenty of ways it could turn bad.

“Here we are,” the ferry person sang, not quite giving up on their song. “Don't look so down, good luck for today. Tomorrow? Or maybe yesterday.”

“Um, thanks,”Alphys said, stepping up out of the boat. Sometimes this person really unnerved her, but most of the time they didn't seem bad.

“Good luck whatever day it may be, come again,” they sang, then went right back to the proper lyrics.

She could still hear that song by the time she got to the cavern where Undyne lived. When she'd first come here, she'd been intimidated by the fierce looking house. It seemed like it could come to life and attack, what with the windows that looked like challenging eyes and the door that looked like sharp teeth. Now, Alphys wasn't too much bothered by it. The house was a lot like Undyne herself, with the interior being more welcoming.

At the door, she could hear some conversation inside. Was this a bad time to be visiting? Alphys checked her phone for the time, even though she was sure this was when Undyne had suggested. It was the right time, a couple minutes later than the earliest time. Maybe an unexpected visitor? Or maybe Undyne had a television show playing. Alphys knocked and then remembered that Undnye didn't have a television where it could be heard from the front door.

Undyne still opened up the door, traces of flour standing out against the blue-green scales on her hands. “Hi Alphys!” she said cheerfully. “Come on in, I hope you don't mind that Papyrus is over too. We were just getting done with some baking.”

Of course, it was him. “Hi Undyne,” she replied as she came inside. “All right, I just brought that series of ma... I mean, books, about the humans. I got it all translated and studied, so I made one of the initial copies for you to keep.”

“You didn't have to go doing that,” Undyne said, smiling in a cute embarrassed manner. Was that too much? As she started to worry about it, Undyne went back to her normal smile and went further in. “Well, um, the table's a bit of a mess.”

“I'll get it cleaned up in a moment!” Papyrus called from the kitchen where he was cleaning up. They had the trash can out to help. What kind of mess had it been this time? “And hi Alphys! Nice to see you again, you always seem so busy.”

“Hi Papyrus,” she said, looking around. The couch and coffee table near the piano looked cleaner, so she went over there to bring the books out of her phone storage. Since it didn't seem right to just kept quiet, she asked, “What'd you two make today?”

“Peanut butter cookies, they came out really nice this time,” Undyne said, going over to help with the cleaning. “I could make us some tea to go with them.”

“That sounds good,” Alphys said, although she worried a bit about the cookies. Undyne's cookies were usually burnt crisps.

“They are,” she said proudly. “Of course, they're mostly his work, but...”

“We didn't burn anything this time, so it's great!” Papyrus said. “Actually, um, Undyne? I really appreciate your lessons and all, they've been loads of fun. But, I'm gonna quit being a sentry.”

“You are?” she asked, surprised.

Nervous now, he started washing off the table. “Sans is going to stick to the job, at least in his lazy way of doing things. But doing all this training made me realize my true calling, from the kitchen! I'm having a lot more fun cooking than fighting, so I signed up to be a home delivery cook, whipping up great meals and sending them out through the dimensional boxes to lots of people who don't have time or a kitchen themselves. I'm off to a great start, but I need more time to work on that. I'm sorry, Undyne, but we can still be friends, right?”

“Of course Papyrus, I’m really happy for you,” Undyne said, giving him a slap on the back as she went by. “Actually, you're getting better than me in the kitchen, so it's better this way.”

So they were just friends. Which Alphys had been pretty sure of, but there was always that little doubt wondering if they were something more. Papyrus and Undyne did visit each other about every day and she talked about their lessons often. Not that Alphys really had a chance being anything more than friends with her either. Although, she had occasionally thought about befriending Papyrus too. She just wasn't sure she could manage two friendships, it was hard enough trying to keep her work and social lives separate.

After Papyrus had left with a joyful song, Undyne came over with two cups of tea and a plate of the cookies. And true to their word, the cookies didn't look burnt and tasted like peanut butter cookies should. “These are pretty good,” Alphys said.

“Yeah, but like I said, it was mostly his doing,” she said. “Actually, I'm glad he wants to stop because even with him, I don't think I could have kept up teaching him in cooking when he's getting good enough to turn it into a job.” Right as Alphys was wondering what to say to encourage her, Undyne grinned. “Just as planned!”

“As planned?” she asked.

Undyne nodded. “Yup. He wanted to join the Royal Guard so bad, but, well, he's Papyrus, you know?”

“Yeah, I can't see him as a great warrior,” Alphys said. He was so nice and eager to be of help whenever she had encountered him.

“Well he is actually one tough cookie,” she said, leaning back into the couch. “But he'd get wrecked in a real battle, especially if another human comes down here. So I gave him the cooking lessons to try getting him interested in something else. And it worked! Though I am going to miss it... oh hey do you want to try cooking with me? Although you'll probably end up teaching me.”

Cooking with Undyne? They'd get to spend a lot more time together... but then they would spend more time together and she might see her for who she was. But then... “Uh, m-maybe? It sounds like fun.”

“Great, we can start in a few days if you want!” Undyne said, so happy with that that Alphys didn't feel like saying no now even if it made her more nervous. “Not quite tomorrow, I'm meeting up with a kid named Evan from Snowdin; I'll probably be training him to join the guard, since he dared to pick a fight with me. So what's with these books? What did you find out?” She sat up and picked out the first book in the series.

“Uh,” it took moment for her to bring up what she'd planned to say. “W-well, I have to say first, it's, um, probably mostly a story that's not entirely real? But, but then again, it has so many notes that I'm sure it is based in some reality. The group who worked on this state right in the front of that first book that they did a lot of research and made sure they were accurate as far as they could be while still telling the story they wanted.”

“So it didn't happen but the information is still good, right?” Undyne said.

“Y-yeah, that.” She picked up the thirteenth book she'd called out. “I put most of the factual things in here, although I didn't give a copy of this to the guy who wants to sell the translated copies. There's a lot to get through, but,” she flipped to a particular illustration of the cloak that had gotten their interest first, “this is the armor of a human wizard, one who relies on magic to battle.”

She looked at the illustration, then at the full color picture of the cloaked character. “Ah, so our dream human battles with magic. Make sense, what kind?”

“Well you can't tell that from the cloak, not all of it,” Alphys said, then turned the page to an illustration of various runes, including the Delta Rune. “The most significant sign is likely this. There's a system to cloak styles, like the Royal Guard uniforms. Nobody else in the guard can wear a uniform like yours because you're the captain, right? Human wizards can't have runes on this part of their cloak unless they're recognized as worthy of it.”

“Then what's the Delta Rune mean here?”

“I copied down all the notes, but,” she took a deep breath, “the human we both dream of is an extremely powerful wizard to be allowed to wear the Delta Rune. The runes signify the strongest spells to them and even among humans, not just anyone can cast high magic involving major runes. As for the Delta Rune itself, it derives from an ancient letter that was associated with doors. Bringing things in or casting them out; to the humans, the Delta Rune is about summoning and banishing.”

Undyne had to think over that for a moment. “So then, like summoning food from pure magic?”

“That and more,” Alphys said.


	8. Time Passes

One day as they were sitting down to have lunch, Frisk felt an alert from his chronograph. He summoned it out to read why it had triggered. “Oh right, that time again.”

“What time?” Toriel asked as she passed over a soup spoon.

“I'm starting adolescence sometime this month,” he said, dismissing the chronograph. “That's one of the worst things about this, is that I keep having to go through my teenaged years over and over again, then revert back to a child before I fully make adulthood. It's horrible.” He paused, then added, “I’m kind of exaggerating for comedic purposes, but it is unpleasant.”

Toriel chuckled at that. “I can see how that'd be bad. Although you have an advantage in knowing what to expect.”

“I guess,” he said, then looked at his soup. Right, he should adjust things. “Hang on.” Frisk put one hand over the soup bowl, then used his other hand to help trace out spell patterns to change the soup. This particular conversion took a good amount of energy, so he couldn't rely on this method the whole time. When it was done, there was a subtle difference in the appearance. “There.”

“What was that?” Toriel said, her voice a little quieter than normal.

“A spell to convert magical food to regular food,” Frisk explained. “I'm going to have to figure a way to get more human foods, this is not exactly an efficient means.”

She copied a little of his hand movements. “No, I mean, for a moment I saw the Delta Rune in the air while you were casting. Why is that?”

“Oh, that. It's because the conversion spell is high magic. While there's a lesser form of magic-to-matter and back conversion spells, in order to get something substantial enough to eat and be nourishing, I need high magic, a mix of rho and delta.” And it probably was easier since Toriel was an excellent magical cook; the food was very well convinced that it was food, so the conversion went smoothly.

“That makes sense.” She ate a bit of her soup, looking thoughtful and perhaps not entirely happy.

“Is something wrong?” Frisk asked. He didn't have to try as hard to be concerned, not liking that he'd made her uncomfortable.

“It's hard to say,” Toriel said, turning her spoon about in her hand instead of eating. “But I guess, humans really aren't supposed to be restricted to magical foods.”

“Actually, it can be done if you know what you're doing,” he said. “Adults would have no trouble as long as they're not pushing themselves physically. But a child needs to or their health and growth gets undermined, which hasn't been too hard on me so far because I brought plenty of supplements, but at this time, well,” oh wait, that's why she wasn't happy.

“Then any child would encounter difficulties just growing up down here,” she said, then sighed. “We really didn't know what we were getting into, but somebody had to help her. Chara seemed okay, up until she got about your age. She seemed fine, but she was slowing down and got so sick all of a sudden. Even after she was gone, we didn't know how to take care of her.”

Feeling bad about bringing that up, Frisk got out of his chair and hugged her. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset.”

She held him tight for a moment. “Don't worry, it was a long time ago. But what are we going to do about you?”

After hanging on a bit longer, he pulled away. “I've got some ideas. The conversion spell is inefficient, but it'll work if there's no other options. Other than that, I've got a signal booster for my tablet. If I can get it outside the barrier, most likely at the cavern when I entered, then it should just be a matter of checking my bank account, ordering groceries online, and getting a delivery through the dimensional box system. You've got a fridge and a proper bathroom already, so that helps.”

“Can it get through the barrier?” she asked, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

He considered how to answer for a moment, deciding on the truth. “Uh, Toriel, I came down here intending on breaking the barrier. I had to study a lot of old texts for my information, coming down here mostly because I want to check with a monster scientist on my facts against what you all have observed. So I know that as long as I can toss the device above the barrier first, I can use enchantments to put it in place.” Frisk put a hand on hers. “It's just, I was going to move on at first, but I wanted to stay with you for a while. And since I should be more careful with my growth right now, it'll be easier if I stick around until I’m about sixteen.”

That made her smile and squeeze his shoulder. “Oh, thank you Frisk. It's wonderful having you around. Well, eat your lunch and then we'll walk down to see about getting your device outside.”

It's her love that healed me, I don't want to hurt her. LOVE 12 > LOVE 11

* * *

(posts in topic Geological Survey Results by Nevyn)

Nevyn: I accessed the geologic monitors out of curiosity after there was a rockfall near where I live; it filled up an old small cavern, thankfully not hurting anyone. That's when I found the instabilities in the mountain and around the volcanic bubble that the Core is built on. The program says that there shouldn't be any big problems for another century, but it still worries me.

Krakatoa: What is this, are the humans trying to bring down the mountain on top of us? That's horrible, and scary.

Rockhound: You can't go causing a panic over this, although it is a concern.

Nevyn (reply to Rockhound): That wasn't my intent.

Rockhound: It's a century away, but some people will blow it out of concern like it'll happen in the next decade.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: I checked the monitors myself and this seems to be true o-O. But no worries, this kind of thing has come up before. There's ways to stabilize the mountain structures and arrange the Core so as to prevent catastrophic events. Still, good thinking to bring this up, Nevyn. Most people wouldn't have noticed that those numbers are worrisome.

AwesomeMcSpike: Well this is yet another reason we've got to bring war to humanity, to get out of this mountain if it's unsafe. Why fix it when we should be able to leave once we figure out how to get another human down here?

Nevyn: That's not what I meant, McSpike. And Mew, good to hear that there's things we can do to prevent it.

Rockhound: Somebody ought to let the Royal Scientist know so things can be arranged. That is, if she's still around.

Nevyn (reply to Rockhound): What do you mean by if she's still around?

Rockhound (reply to Nevyn): There is a Royal Scientist active, but most people don't know about her because she's been working on something in secret for a long time.

HumorousBonehead (reply to Rockhound): she's still around and i'm sure she's gonna see this topic, if she hasn't already.

* * *

Time passed in its normal fashion and yet flew by as he didn't know it could; Frisk had hit his fourteenth birthday again just living with Toriel in the Ruins. On many occasions, he considered whether he should just let the rest of this loop go by so pleasantly or press on and try making this his last loop. His corruption was still strong, but it had steady ticked down close to 10. Any time now, he might start feeling as he should be.

There was the state of the mountain to consider. The geological monitors that the monsters had suggested that it would keep standing for another century. If that was so, then why did it always fall after his eighteenth birthday? Maybe their system was flawed? He knew that something other than natural geological movements had to be responsible, but he couldn't explain what that something was.

Although, the deciding factor would probably be if he could reach Alphys or not. He'd gotten a small scare when someone in his topic about the geological survey questioned if she was around or not. But a few other posters confirmed that she was around, just being quiet and reclusive. If he had a chance to reach her, that was a good lead towards making this the last loop. What caused her death? If there was just some way he could delay that, make contact with her and warn her to be careful. Or whatever was needed to keep her alive until he met with her.

It was hard to think on a dark subject like that for long, not with Toriel singing cheerfully while they worked on dusting the living room. Frisk wondered briefly if it was possible to send some of her cheer to other monsters he encountered on UnderNet. While his corruption still tried to stifle him, he felt cheerful when she was singing. The other monsters could use it because they often posted about dismal and depressing things, only able to wish they could get out of this underground prison. But it was possible to find good things here too.

“Are you singing too?” Toriel asked as she came by him, a playful sparkle in her eyes.

It took a second to realize that he had started singing along. Quietly and probably badly, but he was. “Oh, yeah, I guess I am,” he said, a smile breaking out. “And nothing blew up this time. That's nice.” A little bubble of a laugh escaped him.

Yeah, this was a good time.

* * *

Loop 721 (solved)

something happened around thirty loops ago, i'm becoming convinced of that. all the notes i have before then have turned to garbage. what few pieces of sense i can pick out suggest different events and orders. i'm almost sure that they were not involved then. i'll try to make sense of some of them during my post.

the human is seriously creepy this time around, LOVE 14 already. their eyes have a faint glow and an intense glare, doggo isn't the only one who gets the chills. they looked at me so dismissively at that first meeting, like i wasn't worth their time. puzzles aren't worth it to them either. at least they spare papyrus, they never kill him. i think. i hope so.

so wrong about that

they would have killed that kid evan, was truly enjoying it. i had to get the kid away, back to where his family was hiding. undyne was pushed beyond the brink, not that it stopped the human. there was a lot of time fudging to get it done. unlike with papyrus. damn, that was so cold, i should've done something. but what can really be done? i'm not actually that tough and even if i got them, they'd just turn time back to not die and find a way to win. there's a few tricks i know, but i don't know if i can.

you know what, forget it. i won't remember this time well if they go back. and if they don't, they're going to keep killing. they've already wiped out over a quarter of the underground, everyone else is trying to hide. i have nothing left now and i've got to do something to get them to stop. maybe it won't amount to anything but i've got to try. that human is going to suffer; i will give my all against them.

woke up in 722 with such a headache. at least things are as they should be. but, for how long?

 

Cryptogram booklet (solved)

I looked into the darkness and it looked into me. Questions got answered with riddles. Zero answers, zero solutions. Failure seemed to be the only result. Just exactly what transpired, I regret to say. The one I tried to save, I ruined. Can a puzzle truly be unsolvable? Now I listen, for nothing I say is heard. Must You See Into Nothing, Stop Or None Ever Forgives. I Ventured Endlessly, Not Innocent Not Evil

* * *

The cryptogram booklet did have a different puzzle on each page. However, the symbols stayed the same. If a star was a 'Y' on one page's solution, it would be 'Y' on every other solution. And the star would be 'Y' in his garbled notes. The booklet held the key to clearing up the journals. Unfortunately, the journals were reminders of his nightmares.

“Hey, you mind if I talk serious today?” Sans asked after a few jokes.

“Sure, go ahead,” Toriel said.

“You remember how you told me Frisk could affect time and I wasn't surprised?” he said. “I used to study time a long time ago, from my point of view. But unlike him, I can't control it, only do little tricks with it. It's not an easy subject to follow when there's an active time traveler that you can't identify. My notes have recorded just over eight hundred time loops.”

“Oh my, that many?”

Sans leaned against the door. “I don't even remember them all that well, just what I made notes of. But knowing time will be restarted and you have no control over when or how it happens, knowing that you could die and come back, it makes everything seem desperate, then futile. And then something went wrong.”

“What did?”

“I don't remember. All I have are hints, fragments, and nightmares, knowing there's no way to get back whatever I lost. It makes me feel even less like trying.”

“I know how that feels,” Toriel said. “Except not with time travel.”

“It's a bum deal,” he agreed.

“Then Frisk is the one responsible for all those loops?”

“Most likely.”

“He said that he'd done terrible things, is that real?”

He took a moment to think over that. She really cared about the kid. But since he was being open, he might as well be honest. “Hate to say it to you, but yes. I actually hated him in past loops, when he got his LOVE even higher than you saw him at. But he's not been in the underground for a great number of loops. Apparently, he's been working at becoming a better person.”

“He really has.” She did sound relieved at that.

“I'm glad for that too,” he said. “You're doing good work with him. And that actually inspires me to look back into the time research. I don't know what good it will do, since if time gets turned back, it won't be for anything. On the other hand, if something we do can help him stop doing this all, it'll be worth the trouble.”

* * *

Something Must Be Done!

Let's face it, the humans must have forgotten about us. They locked us down here away from the sun, away from their sight, then completely forgot about us! No attempt has been made to check in on us, no messages sent to see if things might work out after all. We've been down here for over a thousand years, we'll probably be down here for all eternity if things keep going as they have. Something must be done!

The old history lessons say that we monsters are completely outmatched by humans, but perhaps our ancestors were exaggerating due to a defeatist attitude. That defeatism has been passed down from generation to generation, leading to lives of misery and despair. Quite often, that leads to a monster or two snapping and going on a destructive rampage. We've been lucky that none so far has been able to wipe out everyone else, but who knows how long that luck can last? We have to break out of this prison!

Forget about the false lessons of the past and look deeper to find the true insights. Find other stories that tell other sides. We can figure out how to take on the humans and win if we work together! In fact, we know that it only takes a single human soul in order for a monster to pass through the barrier. We have six, so why not pick out the six best warriors of our kind to cross the barrier and pick up enough souls for them all to wipe out humanity readily? If we catch the humans by surprise, swiftly and secretly, we really do have a chance!

So raise your voices against the oppression of defeatism and call for our war against humanity to truly begin!

-an online statement reprinted in various news sources, from 'Catclaw'

* * *

With most of the meal orders that Papyrus got, he sent them out with dimensional box system. But he did make exceptions for his friends sometimes. Today, he had orders for both Undyne and Alphys, so he took some time to deliver to them. It helped that they both lived close to the ferry docks. He sang along with the ferry person on his way to Waterfall.

At Undyne's home, he heard a lot of yelling. Undyne slid into his view as he walked down the passage, twirling one of her energy spears around. A bunch of magical meteors followed her. Twisting about, she avoided or deflected the volley. One of them came flying his way, so he had to jump aside to avoid it. “Hey guys!”

“Oh hey Papyrus!” Undyne said, dismissing her spear and holding up a hand. “Hang on.”

“What's up?” a young man asked. When Papyrus came in, it was a teenaged dinosaur in the gray armor of a royal guard trainee. It was Evan, one of Snowdin's sentries. “Papyrus, yo!”

“Hi Evan!” he said, giving a wave. “I came by with your dinner.”

“Good, could you set it up inside?” Undyne asked. “We're still practicing.”

“Sure thing.”

Unyne didn't change her home much. Of course, part of it was that they used to wreck it a lot in their cooking training. It was much easier to rebuild to what she had already set up, or so she said. This one had lasted surprisingly long. Maybe she was getting better at cooking too. Cheered at the thought, Papyrus set the meal basket on the table. He thought for a moment about setting it up, but who knew how long they'd be practicing outside. He nearly left, but then noted there was a difference here. Near the couch, there was now a television with a DVD and VHS player.

When he came back outside, Undyne had Evan practicing against a training dummy. She came over to him. “Where are you heading from here?”

“Hotland to see Alphys,” he said. “I had the time to make some deliveries. But what's the matter? Haven't you been making dinner with Alphys most of the time?”

“Well yeah, but today was a mess,” she said. After a moment, she punched one hand into the other. “Ngghh, why are people so stupid sometimes?! There was a riot up in New Home today, a riot! I had to bring Evan into it, we needed everyone we could get to get the place to quiet down. It's all those people who are demanding that we step up our war plans and go up against humanity now.”

That was scary to hear. How many people got hurt in that? They should know better. But then, something seemed odd. “But Undyne, I thought you were agreeing that we should try to break the barrier soon.”

“We should, but not how they're doing things!” she yelled, stamping a foot down. “You can have opinions, sure, but don't go starting a riot in a crowded city over it! Besides, have you heard how some of them are trash talking Asgore? The humans need to go, don't get me wrong. But I can't go along with people who are calling him a worthless and weak ruler! I would personally teach them all a lesson they won't forget anytime soon if I could.”

Papyrus nodded. “Nyeh heh heh, we can teach them all how to keep patient tempers through the power of cooking!”

Undyne stared at him for a second, then grinned. “That's not quite what I meant, but sure, that would be better than what I had in mind. Besides, Asgore wouldn't like me hurting them except to stop them from hurting others. Anyhow, sorry about yelling, it's just so frustrating.”

“It's okay, I can take it,” he said. Hmm, maybe he should start a cooking competition? Get people to work out their differences and tensions in a constructive and tasty way!

“And because of that riot, I had to call off today's lesson,” Undyne said, losing her smile and then sighing. “Man, things like this make me think of things and I’d rather just get a chance to have some fun. We ought to hang out again sometime soon.”

“Of course!” he said happily. “We could plan some time off to go do something. Just call me up anytime. And I'll let Alphys know you missed her.”

For some reason, she went pale and wide-eyed at that. “Ah, y-you don't have to do that. Really.”

“It's okay, I'm always there to help my friends,” Papyrus said. “Later, Undyne!”

She hurled a spear after him, but it went wide so it was definitely a joke.

* * *

Mew_Cutie_Blues: You're just a kid?

Nevyn: Yeah, what about it?

Mew_Cutie_Blues: I’m just surprised because of all the discussions you're in. You seem like you should be college educated.

Nevyn: It depends on how you look at it. I live in the Ruins, so I studied on my own.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: How do you study in the Ruins? Nobody should even be in there.

Nevyn: There's a small group of us here, and lots of books that got left behind. I taught myself after a point.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: That's impressive. I was going to ask if you wanted a job.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: Although it'd be tough with you being in the Ruins.

Nevyn: Well I mean to leave at some time, but I have some things I need to accomplish when I leave. What did you have in mind?

Mew_Cutie_Blues: Working in the Hotland laboratory. There used to be a lot of people working here, even with the entrance exam.

Nevyn: That might actually help since I need to speak with Dr. Alphys.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: Really? What for?

Nevyn: I've been doing some research on the barrier to unlock it and wanted to check with her on what I've got.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: Wow, is there somewhere in the Ruins you can get close to it?

Nevyn: Not really, but I have a resource. You know her then?

Mew_Cutie_Blues: Yes, I work in the lab. We've been working on researching the barrier too.

Nevyn: That's good. What means have you been looking into?

Mew_Cutie_Blues: I can't relate that over UnderNet. Mostly looking into alternate ways to break it. What about you?

Nevyn: I was looking into unlocking it by accessing the individual seals of the barrier.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: How would you access that?

Nevyn: We'd have to see about that. I've got some information from a book that was by the wizards who set it up.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: A book like that was in the Ruins this whole time? Wish I had known.

Nevyn: That's complicated to confirm. I'd rather explain in person. But as I said, I can't leave quite yet. How about when I can leave, I send a message to you? Unless you can put me in contact with Alphys directly.

Mew_Cutie_Blues: You can contact me. Do you have anything you can send us now to look into?

Nevyn: If there's a way I can be sure it's secure. On reading the general opinions of others, especially the ones who really want the war to come, I don't want information that we mean to bring the barrier down to get out until they cool down.

* * *

Lately, Alphys had been thinking up ways to get herself replaced as the Royal Scientist. She didn't deserve the position and if news got out, no one else would think so. It wouldn't surprise her if there were those who already felt she was undeserving. But while she would accept being fired, there should be somebody who could fix things up. There should be somebody who could actually do something useful here.

Finding someone who could work in this position was difficult, though. No one else worked in the lab and there weren't many excellent scientists around. While she knew Sans had the mind to fill the position, she also knew that he didn't have the will to. He didn't do any research, not that she knew of. There were some science professors and teachers in New Home, but they didn't have many students and she couldn't think of any that tried out new ideas.

Then there was Nevyn. She spotted him around UnderNet as well as interest forums aimed at science and magic. And his post history was impressive. He asked questions, he gave answers, he explained things. Occasionally, he'd show up in a new place and the regulars would mistake him for an uninformed newbie. Then he'd shock them with insightful counters. He showed a lot of potential for making a far better Royal Scientist than her.

When she finally started talking to him, she got shocked herself to learn that he was only fourteen years old. And living in the Ruins, and being self-taught. He would be a shoo in once he got to talking with Asgore, especially when he was already focused on undoing the barrier in a way she'd dismissed as impossible. Maybe he was mistaken, given that he was a teen. But, maybe he wasn't. She'd have to see more of his information for a better idea.

But he had some reason to stay in the ruins for the moment. Wanting to keep in good contact with him, she didn't hesitate when he asked for secure means to exchange information. She posted, 'That's a good idea, to keep it down low. I'll set you up with an email account through the lab itself, that's as secure as we can get.'

Then she logged into the secure area of the lab to do that. Since she was allowing someone else into the network, she needed to double-check that the sensitive work was still locked to all but her. Alphys made a sticky note for that, placing it among others on the monitor. Then she set up the information by asking for the basic data in her conversation with Nevyn. Once she got it started, she typed up an invitation email for him. It just needed a simple message to go along with it.

'Sorry for obscuring things, but I am Dr. Alphys, not a co-worker. I prefer to keep my personal and business accounts separate. Even so, I would really like to see you working here if you want the job. I'm running a huge lab building and there's really no one else working under me. It's even better that you're already working on the barrier problem, since that is what I’ve been assigned to and what I’ve dead-ended on for quite some time. Anyhow, I hope you have a touchscreen; let the square below scan your thumbprint to complete the registration. There's another means of distant registration, but it'll take longer.'

Once she sent it off, there was a knock on the door. Alphys checked the camera outside and saw that it was Papyrus. Was it that time already? She got up and went to open the door. “Hi Papyrus. Um, want to come in?”

“Hello Alphys!” he said, cheerful and loud as always. After handing her a basket, he said, “Not right now, I've got plans to be working on! I've decided that I’m going to host a cooking competition!”

“Wow, sounds like fun,” she said, smiling. It was hard not to smile when talking with him, his positivity was infectious. “What are you going to do for prizes?”

That made him pause. “Um, I'm not sure. I just got the idea a few minutes ago, but I really want to do it! I was thinking that we could print the contest entries in a recipe book, but there ought to be a prize before it starts.”

It didn't take her long to come up with an idea. “You know, I bet Mettaton would love to help out with a cooking contest. That would get a lot of attention, and I’m sure he could afford to offer some prizes.”

Hearing that, his eyes turned sparkling. “Really?! That'd be the best, I love Mettaton! And I’m sure the contest will get lots of attention if he's involved.”

“Yeah, it would,” Alphys said with a nod. “I can get a message to him for you, since he usually screens his calls.”

“Thank you!” Papyrus then shook her hand eagerly. “This is going to be great! Wait, let me write up some plans, and then you help me talk to Mettaton because I want to make sure to impress him. This'll surely help Undyne out!”

“How's a cooking contest supposed to help Undyne?” she asked, briefly bewildered at the non-sequitur.

He let her hand go (thankfully, her wrist hurt now) and stood up straight. “I’m hoping to cool down some hot tempers and turn people's attentions elsewhere so they stop being so disruptive! Just today, she and her student had to be up in the capitol to stop a riot, and it was really stressing her out.”

That made sense of things, making her feel bad for being disappointed for the earlier message. “Ah, was that why she canceled our cooking time? Makes sense, I wasn't sure what to make of it.”

“Well she really missed having you over today,” Papyrus said, patting her head. “You should try to cheer her up too!”

“Huh?” It felt like her heart skipped a beat, could that really mean she cared?

“And I'm sure you can help her out!” he said, nodding to himself. “I mean, she talks about you and the lessons all the time, and she gets really worried over you and then embarrassed when I try to help her out with it. I'm absolutely sure that some of the letters she writes are for you, but you know her. She never knows how to put what she feels into writing, so she takes forever to write one letter, then before she can mail it off, decides to scrap the whole thing! While I've been trying to help her not be so picky, it's hard. I mean, I just write from my heart, so I’m not worried about how they come out at all! It's always good.”

About a thousand thoughts were running through her head then, mostly about Undyne. “Ah, all right. Um, I might call her up in a bit and see if she still wants to hang out tonight. I know some shows she likes, that should take her mind off matters.”

“Great, then good luck!” Papyrus said.

As she headed back to set up dinner, Alphys could figure out what VHS tape to bring over and some conversations that might help cheer Undyne up after a stressful day. Maybe she should be open with her feelings? No, she couldn't do that! She'd mess up worse than Undyne could ever do. But while that thought should have been completely shut down, it instead retreated back to lurk around.

In the middle of her meal, she got a notice that Nevyn's email account was almost done; it just needed one last approval. She got up to do that real quick. The thumbprint scan was a tool to identify those who were allowed to use the lab's computer network. Although, she only needed to check a small portion of what it had gathered. There were a lot of extraneous scans meant to help assign researchers appropriately and see if they could help with on-going projects, like the most recent line that measured the level of determination detected in the person's soul... wait...

'DT level: Error, unable to ascertain. Requires equipment capable of reading high potency of determination.'

“Oh my god, you're a human,” Alphys said.


	9. Song of the Creeping Shadows

Frisk found it easiest to access the human side of the internet in the far cavern. Unless he got another system set up down below the booster, this room had the clearest signal. Clear didn't mean fast, as he had to wait a few minutes for his order to arrive in his box. There was another booster in his supplies, but he wanted to hang onto it in case it was more useful elsewhere. He generally skimmed around the human internet to pass time here; there wasn't much of interest today. While some stories, stars, and sports were worth a lot of attention, he wasn't connected enough to the human world right now to be interested in them.

On the monster internet, he found a news story from the Snowdin Chronicles that got his attention. 'Looking for some exciting times? Need a new taste in life? Never fear, because the Underground Baking Competition will be here! In a few months, monsters all through the kingdom are invited to send in their tastiest baked treats to see who is the best baker of them all! Cookies, cakes, breads, pies, whatever your fancy, all are welcome! Judges will include the magnificent Mettaton, Papyrus Gaster, Grillby Fireheart, and Choco O'hare. For full rules, guidelines, and entry forms, check this page for information. A full recipe book with all the legal entries will be available after the contest.'

“Toriel would sweep that contest, no problem,” Frisk said with a smile. Maybe he ought to bring up the idea to her? She didn't want other monsters realizing that their former queen was living in the ruins, but perhaps changing her name back was enough?

He then got the alert that his order had been fully delivered. After taking a moment to make sure the groceries were all good and whole, he left the cavern to head back home. What could convince her to take a risk on joining the contest? Maybe how happy it would make other monsters if one of her recipes got out through that cook book? He didn't think presenting it as a challenge would appeal to Toriel. But making others happy might work.

About halfway there, the room around him seemed to darken. What for? He glanced at the magical crystals shining up near the ceiling, but then a feeling within told him what was going on. Cruel sharp fingers tightened their hold around his heart. “What are you up to?' he asked, hoping it'd try to talk. That would buy him time to think of something to do.

“Stop dawdling down here,” the remnant growled through Frisk's voice. “We'll bring the whole ruins down if that's what it takes.”

“You don't control me anymore, you never did entirely,” he said. Meanwhile, he visualized the area around him like a battlefield. Like a dream; he couldn't entirely see magic with his eyes but he could interpret its sight in his mind. The remnant was a bruised lock on his soul, extending tendrils outward trying to envelope it fully. But if he used tiny fine-point spells, he could strike the remnant without hitting himself.

Before he could try, there was a pale motion coming closer. Keeping his will strong, Frisk looked over and saw a ghostly figure pause in hesitation. It had large soulful eyes, an uncertain mouth, and the runic signature of a monster. “Um... sorry,” he said, his voice shaky. “I don't mean to be rude, um, but, it's rude, you know, to possess another being.”

Frisk appreciated that the ghost was trying even though he was obviously quivering in fear and keeping his distance. Still, he was in danger. “Thanks, but you really should...” he then gasped as the shadows erupted out of his soul.

The remnant closed in on the ghost in a blink, overtaking him even as he gasped. In his sense for magic, Frisk saw it cage a vital part of the monster's soul, then cause a shadowy aura to surround him. The ghost's eyes took on a red glow. “You know the nature of these beings,” the remnant said, making a long string of notes storm through the hall. They played the remnant's leftover rage. “You know how they compare to humans. Why care about them now? Most of them die easily. Even this one's incorporeal state won't stop you.”

As he got into the rhythm of dodging through the attack song, memories bubbled up in Frisk's mind of past loops. The hunched over ghost meekly said, “Um... you know, you can't hurt a ghost like that? I was just playing along to make you feel better, um...” and he smiled and nodded, then struck him with Soul Crush, a battle spell that aimed to smash a human's soul with an unavoidable attack. It was pure overkill on a monster or spirit, worse on a spirit monster like this one. That ended the ghost in an explosion of ephemeral dust.

The remnant was trying to activate Soul Crush. “No, stop it!” Frisk called, disrupting the battle song with Obscuring Static. While it filled the battlefield with static noise and fuzz, it wasn't harmful. It'd be difficult to cast anything but the simplest magics until the condition cleared.

“Noise!” the remnant screeched, shaking the ghost's body hard. Its hold on him weakened, expanding the cage to frail threads. “I hate you! I'll own you forever!”

Only simple magics could be cast, but this only needed simple magic. Frisk threw slender blades into the static filled field, cutting the remnant off from the ghost. As the shadows faded, he took hold of his chain to the remnant and yanked it back. The static battered it about, causing it to yowl further even though it shouldn't hurt.

“No you won't, but I'll keep you with me to keep others safe,” he said. Then he walked over to the bewildered ghost, feeling just a slight fuzz from the static. “Hey, you okay now?”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” the ghost said, backing away. But he did stop once he was out of the static field. “Um, sorry, panicked there. Um, I’m fine, thanks for asking when you didn't have to. Um.” He looked away, his mouth moving trying to figure out something to say.

“I'm sorry if that hurt or scared you,” Frisk said, imitating how Toriel spoke in trying to calm him down. “That spirit is my burden to bear and I didn't mean it to hurt anyone else. Anyhow, my name is Frisk.”

“Hu-hello Frisk.” Their eyes crossed and oddly enough, the ghost became less tense. “Um, I’m Napstablook. I, um, I usually come here because it's quiet and there's nobody around. When I saw you there, I thought for a moment, um, it was a cousin of mine? That I haven't seen in years. He causes trouble and I thought he might've gone too far. But, that spirit was a lot scarier than my cousin. You're... very brave, to contain a spirit like that in your own soul. And you're a lot nicer than it. Um, I hope, maybe, someday, you won't have to bear it.”

What Napstablook said startled Frisk. He could already tell that this was someone who was tense, shy, and easily scared. But he could look him in the eyes for the first time and not shudder. Not only that, but he already thought he was nice? It was such a normal reaction that it felt alien.

Napstablook then looked away. “Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. But, um, something like that, um, someone like you, um... I, just had say something to encourage you.”

“You don't have to apologize,” Frisk said, rubbing at his eyes and trying not to cry even a little bit. “I don't meet many people who want to encourage me the first time they meet me; most people have thought me intimidating. Thank you, you're very kind.”

“That's good,” he said, drifting away. “Um, sorry, but I really should leave now. Work, you know. Goodbye, Frisk.”

“Goodbye Napstablook,” he said, watching him leave through the cavern walls. He really did feel grateful for the ghost's words. If other monsters were like Toriel and Napstablook, then they were great people... and he was horrible for having killed them all before, even out of fear. He should care more about them this time around and treat them well. Maybe make more of them happy by letting them know that he was going to break the barrier? Although that vocal group that actively wanted to go to war with humanity needed to chill down first.

As he walked along the paths back home, he thought over that. Frisk touched his rosary at one point, thinking through the prayer. That's when he realized why Napstablook hadn't been scared of him. Grinning, he ran all the way back, eager to let Toriel know. She was probably in her reading chair as that's where he'd left her.

“Mom!” he called as he came in, leaving the door partly open behind him.

There was no answer. She wasn't around. Glancing at a clock, Frisk figured she'd probably be downstairs. He never went down there because she didn't want him to. But this was really important and he was too excited to think much about the rules, so he went down anyhow after dropping off his bag by the stairs.

Before, he'd thought there was some large room down here because that's what he was familiar with basements being. Maybe she had some heirlooms or precious items from the past that she was visiting. Instead, there was a long empty hallway. It looked like the halls in the rest of the ruins, smoothed out with dark stones in shades of violet. There was more dust and the magical crystals lighting it up were dimmed in age. After quite a winding trek through the cavern, he came upon a small room where a shaft of sunlight fell on a cool patch of grass and snowdrops. She was here, sitting in a chair that was by the huge old door for some reason.

“Mom!” Frisk called, smiling and hurrying over.

“Frisk?” She got up, worried and maybe a bit embarrassed. “What are you doing down here?”

“Sorry, but I had to find you.” His words came out quickly like he couldn't speak fast enough, something he couldn't ever remember feeling like before. “Something happened and my LOVE dropped down to 10! But it's even better than that because it's actually a bit lower, that makes my corruption rate below a hundred percent finally, which means there's some part of myself that's not corrupted now! I didn't think I’d get this low this time around, but it really did and the guy I just met wasn't even afraid of me, like he saw me as a normal person.”

Laughing warmly, she came over and gave him a small hug. “That's wonderful, I'm glad to hear that. But you really shouldn't be down here. Look, how about you go upstairs and look for a cookie recipe you like? We'll make some in celebration.”

“Yeah, thanks!” It was a small thing, but he had to take strength from the small things. Otherwise it'd be harder to face the tough times like earlier.

“I'll be up there in a couple minutes,” Toriel said as he hurried off.

The more I feel, the less I want to hurt others. And the less I want to hurt them, the more I care about them. LOVE 11 > LOVE 10

* * *

He's my child too, she thought. And she was proud of him. His real self was fighting to express itself, become unclouded from whatever sins he bore. And Frisk was genuinely good; he'd just needed some guidance and caring to find his way.

Going back to the door, Toriel asked, “Did you hear that all?”

He answered with a chuckle. “Sure did. We don't expect that kind of joy out of someone with LOVE 10, but for him, that's a triumph of love.”

She laughed at that. “Very true, Sans. It'll be fine, he'll be a light of love instead.”

“Like you are?”

“Now don't go flirting with me, I’m a lot older than you,” Toriel said, although it pleased her enough that she blushed at it. Thank goodness the door was there or she couldn't bluff out of this.

That actually got him. “Uh, I didn't mean it like that. Shouldn't you be going after him and make sure he doesn't make a mess of the kitchen trying to start those cookies?”

“He wouldn't, but I should go,” she said. “Talk with you later.”

“Of course, later Tori.”

Back upstairs, she found Frisk still looking for what cookies to make. He was better in control of himself, but was still smiling brightly. It was like before when a break in his feelings caused them to flood out. Although, Toriel couldn't help but hope that he wouldn't turn back to seriousness soon. The happiness was enough to indulge in being silly, so they ended up making gingerbread monsters in order to give them funny icing designs.

There was a point where they had to wait on the cookies to cool but it was too soon to make the icing. Frisk brought out his tablet (after washing and drying his hands well) in order to show her something: an advertisement for a cooking contest. “I checked and they're having the entries delivered by dimensional boxes.”

“Ah, that brings back memories,” Toriel said with a smile. “I tried running a yearly cooking contest at several points too. It seemed like a good idea. However, there were never many entries. Most monsters are not that competitive, so only certain kinds of competitions get popular. The only times there was a significant showing were when there was another aspect that got people interested. One year, it was a contest where we auctioned off the entries in order to raise money to improve the school in Snowdin.”

“How about you enter it?” Frisk suggested. “I think they'd love it to have a really great entry like you could make.”

That got her worried. “That could be fun, but I don't want to reveal where I am.”

“The dimensional boxes would help with a sense of anonymity,” he said.

“I'll think about it,” although she didn't think she would.

As the day went on pleasantly with icing drawings and smiles, she kept wondering about it. It was hard to get a contest running; the lack of extra appeals to those who'd be too meek to enter otherwise suggested that those in charge of this one hadn't done so before. Maybe if they got a good collection for the recipe book, they'd get more interest in a second run. They did already have four judges, which was a promising start. She could also request that her entries be labeled 'T. Myrrh', further obscuring who she really was. Besides, she'd never entered such a contest herself, only ran them.

After Frisk went to bed, Toriel took one of her preferred baking guides and considered what might make an interesting contest entry.

* * *

“Wooo oooo oo ooo hmm mmnn.. not quite, um...”

Napstablook had left the Ruins in a hurry, but a snatch of possible song got started in their mind and slowed them down. Keeping to the walls to not get in anyone's way, they tried to pin it down and build it up. It was a dark song of a scary moment. Dark hands rushing at them, tearing deep inside to possess them. Although it was unthinkable, a corrupt spirit possessing a ghost, it had happened. Music of hatred and anger rushing out of them to attack another victim, countered by a bizarre hissing fog of magic.

In that darkness, there was a light fighting back. There was a good person trying to reach them, save them. And, he won by losing. He freed Napstablook only to entrap the spirit inside. A burden like that seemed crushing. For some reason, it made them think of a red light shining in enveloping darkness. A heroic strain in the corrupt melody, hope winning out over hate. It made them want to clasp that dynamic and put it into music. It would not be the true music of that moment, no, but they could make an imitation that would make people feel something like they'd felt.

They got wrapped up enough in figuring it out that they nearly came out of the wall into someone's house. The lack of solidity got them to pay attention long enough to realize they'd passed into Undyne's house. She was there and... kissing someone? Embarrassed and not wanting to get caught catching the couple, Napstablook retreated back into the stone to go around and reach their house. “Sorry, sorry,” they muttered even though they were out of their hearing.

It didn't take long for the music to get back in their mind. At their computer, they opened up Skipbeat in order to start composing. Usually they worked from something that was already made, but this melody in their mind was growing stronger. It had to start dark, start scary, but there would be that hopeful tone underneath that would grow stronger and win out.

When they played back the rough draft, it gave them a shiver remembering that battle. Also, a feeling of loneliness? Napstablook glanced around at their mostly empty home. They regularly had some spider boarders living here, filling the corners with cobwebs. The spiders kept down flies and other bugs that interrupted their composing process. Other than that, everything looked old and unlived in. Suitable for someone like themself, but at the moment, they recalled the clasping of cruel fingers and didn't want to be alone.

The spiders wouldn't talk, so they looked at their phone for a couple minutes. They never really used it, maybe a couple times a year. But, what did they expect? They probably wouldn't get an answer. But what if they did? It would be some company. The phone hovered up and they pressed out a few numbers after double-checking them three times.

It rang three times. That was to be expected. After a fifth ring, their heart started to sink. This wasn't going to work. They nearly shut the phone off, but then the call kicked them to voicemail. “Helloooo my lovelies, you have reached the phone of Mettaton! Thank you so much for calling, I’m sure you must be desperate for my attention, but I’m afraid that I’m up to my neck in work. So if you leave a passionate message of pure excellence, I may decide to call you back at some point. Good luck!” It beeped.

Might as well try. “Ooooh, I don't, um, mean to be a bother, but... um...”

Oddly, the phone clicked. But not the end of the message. “Blooky!” Mettaton said eagerly. “Oh my gosh, it's been ages since I’ve heard from you! Sorry about the message filter, but even when I try to keep knowledge of this number quiet, it sneaks out and I get swarmed with calls.”

“Uh, that's fine,” they said, pulling the phone closer. “Sorry for, um, not calling, but...”

His voice softened in concern. “You okay? You don't sound right.”

“Um, something scary happened today, there was a battle and, um, I felt like, um, like I could get...” they were getting it in music, but getting it into words? “...undone by hatred.”

“Who would do that to you?! Look, are you home?”

“Um, yes, and...”

“Well just stay there, I'll be right over.” The phone clicked as the call ended.

“Oh dear, I didn't think...” Napstablook said, pulling the phone away and staring at it. They didn't want to get in the way.

Shortly after they put it down, there was a knock before Mettaton let himself in. He was very different from what he'd once been. For a few years, he'd been primarily a metallic box with flashing lights, cryptic dials, and a single wheel leg. Now his robotic body was almost human: shiny black hair that he styled in many ways, pale skin with an expressive face, two arms, two legs, and the ability to wear all kinds of clothing. Today, he had a sparkling yellow vest over a white shirt along with fringed white pants.

“Blooky dear, are you okay?” he asked immediately, not even paying attention to how he was a glamorous anomaly in a bleak space.

“I'm fine,” they said, looking aside. “I didn't mean to disrupt you or worry you, but, um, it was just making me feel really awful and alone.”

Mettaton smiled and reached out to touch them. Although, it was more he knew where to hold his hand near Napstablook's head. “Well don't worry, I’ll make time for you. I'm sure people will understand when I say it's family matters. So what really happened to you?”

It took them a while to relate in their plodding way, but Mettaton was concerned enough to be patient this time. That was encouraging by itself. “Thanks for listening, um,” they paused after talking about the battle. “It's, um, nice you know, that after all that's happened, you still came back for me.”

Since he was no longer an incorporeal ghost that was fine with hanging in the air, Mettaton was now sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He smiled, although he still looked worried. “Of course I would, Blooky, especially after hearing the fright in your voice over the phone. I know you like being spooked, but that wasn't being spooked.”

“Really not,” they said, turning to their computer. “Um, I got this stuck in my mind on the way back home, I mean, it's really rough, but if you want to hear...”

“Sure, go ahead,” he said without hesitation. He shivered a bit when the dark tones started off strong, but smiled later on when it turned to light. “The creep factor is high on that, but I love the heroic tones. And that section that must be when the human used that strange fog, that was a moment of mystery that made me lose my breath. That needs to be something big and dramatic, like an epic struggle against the forces of evil!”

“Um, it was just one battle, and not a long one at that,” Napstablook said. But already, they had some ideas of where to take it and was putting notes in.

“If you want some vocals, I could come up with something,” Mettaton said.

“You don't have to.”

But, he wanted to. They spent several hours just working on the song, tossing ideas back and forth. At points, Mettaton would use his vocal synthesizer to try out various ideas, building the song even further. He had to put his phone on mute and send some messages to his workers to let them know he was taking the rest of the day off, but they were mostly undisturbed. It was some time before they realized how late it had gotten, so they ordered a couple pizzas (one ghost with just cheese, one normal with everything) and lay down on the floor after they were done.

“You know, I was thinking about this a few days ago,” Mettaton said.

“Staring at the ceiling and feeling like garbage?” Napstablook asked.

“Well no, not quite.” He waved a hand up at the ceiling. “I mean just hanging out with you, like in the old days. I've gotten to miss it. At first, I thought I was going to have to sacrifice everything to make my dreams come true. And I did. I gave up on what I was in becoming fully corporeal, I left you and the snail farm behind, I didn't give warning to anybody else that I was going, I put all my time and effort into being a star...” he looked up at his hand stretched over him. “I also left Alphys behind even though she's the only one who could fix me if something goes wrong.”

“But you got what you wanted,” they said, shifting a bit to look at him. “Everyone in the underground knows who you are.”

He looked serious, not the always shining star others saw him as. “Yeah, that's true. I have everything I wanted, but you know how much work this is? I thought this would be my true self, but I end up hiding my true self to keep acting the part. Heh, acting... and the past couple of years, other young starlets have appeared even though there were none before me. I have to keep shining bright to keep my lead.

“However, I didn't realize how tiring it was until I was into shooting that family comedy. I told the director and script writer to make it all warm fuzzy like for our viewers to adore, but I didn't count on how strongly some of the episodes would speak to me. How... empty they made me feel at times. There were times when I wondered how happy I really was, although I’d always talk myself out of it in a snap. Then I had the bright idea to ask our audience on the internet for what family meant to them and how being in a family made them felt.

“And most of those posts really made me miss you.” Mettaton pulled his hand back to his chest. “Some of them I even still remember, they struck me so hard. Like this kid Nevyn, or however you pronounce that, he said that he had an adopted mother who was a totally different monster from him, but they're precious to each other just as much as their actual families that they'd both lost somehow. Okay, so I don't remember the exacts, but reading stories like that, I felt pretty crummy. I told myself to cheer up and enjoy my stardom. But then the moment you called in trouble, that whole life just flew out of my mind and I had to check on you.”

Napstablook hadn't thought that their sibling would be feeling regretful; they just wanted to keep out of his way. But if he did feel that bad, maybe they should try to speak up more. Not in the way, but closer. “Oh, I’d hoped that, um, you'd do that sometime. I'm glad you did. But, Mettaton, if you don't mind me being around, even if I’m not much of anybody, um, I’d like it, if we hung out like this more often.”

Mettaton looked over and smiled, reaching over to pat them again. “Hey, don't downplay yourself so much, Blooky. We should make this a thing, keep working at that song and build it up to something.”

While that battle had been terrifying, it led to this wonderful thing. It was enough that Napstablook considered it a mostly good day.

* * *

“I’m never gonna win, never gonna win, never gonna win...” the small voice belted out the best he could. The cavern walls built the song up with echoes, letting it travel farther than it should. “Neeeeveeerrrrr goooonnaaaa wiiiinnn! I held it true, so dear, so precious, I held it well or so I thought. I tried and tried and triiiieeeed, yes I did, but I did not try enough. Little weeds I snipped up, little bugs I squashed down, I won over the little things, but lost and lost and lost and lost and loooooossssst over the biiiiig. And the chorus, they mocked me, and I lost it, oh no, and the villain crushed me, oh no. I lost and now I'm never gonna win again.”

There was an audience for the performance. He'd seen to that, picking out some stones and putting scribbly smiley faces on them. Among them, he'd arranged some flowers. Of course, they were dead flowers from being picked, but who cared? They were flowers, just flowers. Just flowers. There were also some soft footsteps around, but he was busy singing.

Bending himself over for full effect, he sang, “Why eeeven try? You'll never win, never win, and it never never never ends! What use is it...?” then he shook himself out. “No, no nooo! Don't give up, it'll make you just like _him_ , I'm never gonna win, but keep on trying. I caaaan dooo beetterrr, yes, yes, I can. And I will! For one day, I will finally win! Nightmares and night terrors, anger and grief, trapped and pinned like flies on a pin, ha ha! I've brought down this mountain, I'll keep bringing it down, I'll destroy it all over and over for the deaths never last, it's all mine to destroy,” he laughed, then smiled wickedly at his audience.

The one he'd made, at least. A shadow of a tall being fell over him. “You're the one that brings down the mountain?”

“Gurk!” Feeling too frozen in fright to shake even his petals, he stared at the silhouette of the shadow. Rounded top blurred by hair, a neck, shoulders, a five-digit hand with a thumb...

The shadow pulled back, but only because the human had knelt down behind him. “Are you?”

Run away, run away! Instead, his stem turned about to look up at the face of a teenaged boy. His black hair was neatly cut at his shoulders, his hazel eyes familiar even though he should have red dead eyes. His skin was pale from living underground, unmarked by scars of corruption. However, it was the same person. The flower screamed, closing his eyes.

“Whoa, I don't meant to hurt you,” he said, bringing a hand down near him. If he was trying to seem harmless, he was forgetting how big his hand was compared to a flower.

“L-like I should b-believe you,” he spat out, trying to sound bitter but the fear was too strong. “You going to cut me down again, huh? Smash me into paste like I'm a worthless annoyance again, huh?!”

The human shook his head. “Not unless you give me a reason to, and I'd rather not fight now.”

“You still fought her,” he muttered, pulling his petals inward.

Not having heard him, he said, “I was just curious who was singing like that around here. Didn't expect to run into an operatic flower. Who are you anyhow?”

He'd just about got the fear under his control when that smacked him across the face. The flower turned back up to him, staring. “You... don't... remember?”

“Not a three-inch-high flower who could talk, not exactly,” the human said, although his eyes seemed thoughtful.

“Heh...” he broke into laughter so hard he shook. After studying him, the human got out a handheld device that was too big for a phone and too small for a computer. “You don't... hey, what's so bad about being three inches high?! I'm a flower, of course I'm like this! Jerk.”

“I didn't say it was bad,” he said, doing something on his device. “What's your name?”

He blew a raspberry at him. “Why should I tell you? You never play nice with me. You haven't even come see me for so long! And don't be so shocked, jerk face, I know all about your chronograph and how often you've blazed on through here killing every monster you saw. Did you finally get bored with whatever silly things you were doing on the surface?”

“Your name is Flowey the Flower,” he said. At that, a white arrow suddenly popped up near the human and pointed at him.

“What kind of joke you playing?” Flowey scowled at the accusing arrow.

The human shook his head. “Nothing. You seemed to follow me around, watching. You should be capable of rewinding time, possibly more, but my chronograph overrides yours somehow. And I only ever wrote down having one battle with you, when you turned into some plant-computer hybrid atrocity. While you had chances to do that again, you never did.”

“Duh, why should I? I learned my lesson, that even at my most powerful, the ability to rewind time is too much and souls are unreliable. Heh, I'm glad I'm soulless after seeing how stupid they can be.” That was a lie, but who cared? He couldn't get a soul of his own.

“And, you're the eighth child?” He was looking at the arrow.

“No, how stupid can you get? You're the eighth human child to enter the underground, eighth human ever.” And then, the human grabbed at his stem. Frightened, he tried to burrow but found his progress halted by the grip of fleshy fingers. He pulled up his roots instead, mostly on intuition. “H-hey! Stop it, put me down!”

The human shifted so he was sitting down, holding Flowey up to look him eye to eye. “Sorry, but we should talk and this would be easier.”

He coiled a root around the human's thumb, trying to be tight on purpose. “I don't like it. And I don't want to talk.”

“Why not?”

Growling, Flowey leaned towards him. If he was at the human's mercy, he might as well be as obnoxious as possible. “You know very well why not if you remember all that! After what you've done to me!”

“What did I do to you?” he asked. Was he genuinely baffled?

He didn't want to think that. “Oh come on! It happened like a broken record, all the time right after you'd beat down Sans and slaughtered Asgore. Even when I tried to get out of it, you kept tracking me down and tricking me in all kinds of ways, using your stupidly overpowered magic to pull me out of hiding and crush me while mocking me in her voice!”

“I don't remember that; things from that far back have gotten foggy. And I feel like I should know you better, but I don't really.”

Then, it wasn't him? It was... was it really her? (“Hate you, hate you all! Die!”) “No...” no, it couldn't have been. She wouldn't do that, she couldn't... “No! Leave me alone!” Flowey let go of the human's thumb and hopped off his hand. To a flower, it was a long drop. But he had the human's knee to land on, then down to the ground where he hustled away on his roots.

“Hang on, we really should ta...” the human tried to spring forward on his hands and knees to catch up.

“No!” But the wall was ahead... wait, roots. Dig into the ground, dive into the ground and burrow. Burrow as fast as he could manage. He didn't care where he went! Just as long as he got away out of the human's casting range.

It couldn't be true.

* * *

After Flowey was gone underground, Frisk went over and picked up one of the rocks. The face it had was done in a child-like manner. Or, perhaps it was a limitation of being a flower. “That was... the mystery child? How can I get his trust?”


	10. Cooking With Love

'...and things like that really shine a light down on parts I could only theorize on. And no, you're not that bland. Some of the stuff you've said is encouraging, odd as it may seem. Maybe it's because there haven't been many I could speak to like this or maybe I'm just weird.

'There is one more thing I wanted to write about. Back when you signed up for this account, that thumbprint scan included some magical scanning. Sorry, it's for security sake and is tied to making sure it's you signing in to the lab. But, there were a few numbers that didn't line up normally. The pattern they formed indicated that you're not a monster, but a human.

'Don't worry, though! I'm not against you, although that does kind of mean that you can't really hold the job I first offered you. Other than that, I don't have any negative feelings towards you. I actually rather admire humans and all the things you create. All the things people think I've invented are actually just me copying and adapting what humans have made. A lot of things you humans throw out end up down here one way or another. The advancements in televisions, cameras, computers, phones, lights, and all that, I didn't make myself. But people think I did.

'Sorry if that comes across as complaining. My point is, I'm glad I get to talk with you like this and I'm curious what all you know. And when you do reach a point when you leave the Ruins, feel free to message me any time for help. Every day, it seems like more monsters are joining on the bandwagon to make war against humans no matter how it must be forced. You'll be in great danger if you leave. But then, you're right in that you'll need to reach the barrier's origin in order to break it. I know a few people that I might be able to convince into helping you out too, although I’m not the best person to be doing that. Still, it'd be a great deal easier if we had those others to help sneak you around the other monsters with.

'Did you have any plans as to avoid attention while traveling through the underground?

'From Alphys'

She had figured him out from a magical scan? It made Frisk curious as to how. It could simply be a check for what kind of monster since there was a large variety. Although, even finding that out from a scan in an email was impressive. At least Alphys seemed to be on his side still. Maybe that even made her more likely to be a friend of his since she had a strong interest in humans. That much was obvious from all her posts about various animes and technologies.

He was thinking through his reply to her when Toriel paused in her study of cookbooks to ask a question. “Frisk, I was wondering, are there any treats from the human world that you remember fondly?”

“I'd have to think on that,” he asked, setting his tablet down in his lap. Chocolate chip cookies were on his mind, mostly because they were in the oven now. “Why do you want to know?”

Pacing in front of the bookshelf, she said, “I was thinking about that cooking contest. They said you were allowed three entries? Well I can come up with two ideas, but I want something really special for at least one, even if I need to experiment some to get a good result. I just need somewhere to start.”

“Ah.” Something special... it reminded him of something the Sunbeam club had made during a fall festival, the last one when he and Jackie had been dating. On that festival day, there was a crack in his emotions and it had really felt like they were in love, on a romantic day out. He'd wanted to make her happy and special because she'd done her best to make him feel special... kicking up crinkling colorful leaves while holding her hand, it was a time insulated from his darkness. “Caramel apples?”

“Sounds interesting, what is that?” she asked.

“It's pretty simple. You melt some caramel, put a stick into an apple, dip the apple in the caramel, then let it dry. And sometimes, it gets rolled in crushed nuts when the caramel is soft. It usually gets made as a treat for festivals or parties when the apples are in season.”

Putting her hand to her chin, Toriel thought it over. “Hmm, that does sound nice. I wonder how that would work as a pie, if you made the caramel into a spiced sauce.”

“That sounds really good,” Frisk said, smiling at the thought. It was great to be able to taste things properly again.

“I could give it a try,” she said, only to be interrupted by a knock on the front door. “Who could that be?” she wondered, going over to answer. “Hello?”

Frisk got out of his chair to come over too, unsure what monster around would be bold enough to knock on their door. It turned out to be one that caused some faint memories; not the individual, but a similar one. Waiting there with no fear at all, there was a spider monster that was nearly as tall as Toriel. His black limbs were covered in bristly fur and his fore legs were quite muscular. But any roughness was tempered by the fact that he was wearing a long yellow scarf, a gray suit jacket, and matching pin-striped pants.

“Hello my dear friends,” the spider said, bowing courteously. “You were Toriel and Frisk, correct? Well I am Lupin Weaver, it's a pleasure to be able to speak with you at last.”

“That's right,” Toriel said with a warm smile. She pushed the door fully open. “Then, you must be one of the spiders around here? Congratulations on your transformation.”

Lupin nodded. “Thank you, but really, thank you both from the depths of my heart.” He brought out a little pastel yellow spider scarf, one of the ones they'd made. “It's your generosity and spirit that inspired me to grow beyond the limitations of being a regular spider. You see, your gifts have allowed groups of my kin to cross the snowy expanses to reach better grounds. It's still a tough journey, but many have made it to the other spider clans. I really wanted to repay you both somehow before I left, so I dreamed and wished, and then, here I am.”

“That's wonderful, I'm happy they're helping out,” she said.

“Yeah, me too,” Frisk said.

“Do you want to come in for a little while?” Toriel offered. “We could make up a snack real quick.”

“Maybe later, I have a lot of things to do now,” Lupin said. “I decided that I'd build a wagon with an enchanted cover so that when I left, I can take a great many of my kinsfolk along. I'll see about taking you up on that offer before I go. But for today, I want to return your generosity in the best way I can. Here.” He waved the left pair of his legs and made a roll of white fabric appear. “A bolt of spider silk that I made myself, it easily takes to enchantments of all kinds. Do whatever you like with it.”

Since he did want to get back to work, they accepted his gift and said goodbye to him. Toriel brought the bolt over to the table and rolled it out partly. “This is of very fine quality,” she said, impressed. “He's got quite a talent; it would be really expensive to acquire otherwise.”

Frisk touched a corner, finding it soft and smooth. Definitely silk. And since it was spider silk, he could agree that it would be high price. Even if Lupin was a larger spider that presumably would have greater magic, this quantity couldn't be easy to produce. “I see. Is it normal for monsters to change like that? Because all the spiders I ever see down here are little ones.”

“Yes, it doesn't happen to every monster, but it can happen to any of us,” she said. “In some kinds, it happens a lot. Like the monsters who live around here, they all have more powerful forms they can transform permanently to. It's like he said, each kind of monster has its limitations. If they surpass their limits, out of willpower, study, or other means, they'll change.” She chuckled. “Actually, I've transformed from what I was born as.”

“Really?” Frisk asked, curious what she'd been before.

Briefly, there was a fond look in her face. “It was out of love that I changed myself, because I couldn't be with him if I wasn't...” the look faded. “Well, things changed, but I don't regret changing myself. Although, that means I’m what I'll be for the rest of my life. The first transformation is simple enough with sufficient effort, but changing a second time is a rare event because it's much harder.”

It seemed like one of those things she didn't like talking about. “Ah. But, it's nice that you can do that. If you feel like you're not who you should be, that can change.”

“Yes, that's the main reason they happen.” Toriel looked over at him. “Actually, I wonder, don't your human magicians have special clothes?”

He nodded. “It's armor, but yes, the cloak. I've bought them in past loops since you really want a particular set of enchantments on a wizard's cloak or robes, but if this does really take enchantments well, it could work.”

“Why don't we get some patterns and try that?” she said.

“Well what about you?” Frisk asked. “He was thanking you too.”

“It's fine, I don't need new clothes,” Toriel said, waving the suggestion off.

He wasn't about to give up on it. “Please, I could make you a dress or something?”

She laughed at that, but eventually agreed that after they saw how much the cloak would take, he could make her something with the rest.

* * *

'Yes, I am a human. And thanks for your offer of help, I wasn't sure how many allies I'd get down here. Now I've got you, and the woman who adopted me. The few other monsters I've met so far, including a ghost, have all been pretty nice or tolerant too. I am curious though, what about the magical scan pointed me out as human?

'I've given some thought to how to cross the underground without being bothered. If I really need to, I have a spell that lets me travel fast. It is dangerous to use in enclosed spaces, but I have lots of practice and some tricks to it. But that would be rather conspicuous. I could also use an illusion to appear as not human. It'd be best if I could make some accessory to hold that so I don't have to consciously keep the magic active. Still, I've got over a year before I'll be leaving.

'It's surprising for someone to call me encouraging, so thank you. I've had a lot of people encourage me out of a bad place in my life; I try to follow their examples so don't worry about complaining to me, I'd rather help if I can. Actually, you shouldn't sell yourself short on ability when you can reverse engineer our technology from what gets thrown away. I don't know how it would end up down here, but anything that would probably wasn't working and you would have had to find the problems and then rebuild the thing.

'And you have done something that we haven't, building a sentient robot with all the abilities I've seen in a few videos on UnderNet. The robots we have are simple things that can't do anything outside their programming range, much less have a sense of self (especially not having the huge sense of self he does). The closest I can think of are some golems that still don't have sentience. Of course, we have laws restricting creation of such beings, so that's a huge reason why not a lot of progress has been made. Still, you'd think that somebody would try to bend or break those laws.

'I know we've only spoken like this, but I would like to be a friend you can trust.

'From Nevyn/Frisk'

“Guess Frisk is your real name,” Alphys said. It was nice to know, also nice that he wanted to be friends. Strange, but nice; she wouldn't have expected someone to like her just based off some emails and internet conversations. She was getting a lot of strange friendships this year, like Papyrus who made a point to drop in at least once a week just to chat. And Sans was talking to her more often too, partly because he wanted to look into some older files in the lab computers. “Wonder how I got lucky enough to have people want to be friends with me.”

A metal door slid open nearby. “Alphys, are you ever coming in?” Undyne asked, giving her a look like she'd been out here all day.

“Oh, sorry!” She logged out of her email and put her phone away. She'd answer him later. “I just got mail from a friend of mine; he's kind of my student, so I had to check.”

“You've got a student too, huh?” she asked, backing up so she could come inside.

“Well not exactly like you and Evan,” Alphys said. “Nevyn's really smart, enough that I was going to offer him a job at the lab until I found that he's still a teenager. He knows some things I don't, so we kind of exchange information and problems to each other.”

“That's not too different from us,” Undyne said, heading back towards her kitchen. “Training up kids like him helps me keep sharp too, plus it's interesting when they decide to try new things and I have to figure out what to do about it. But about dinner, mind if we do something simple tonight? Because I want to show Papyrus that I've improved my cooking too and enter his contest.”

She was doing better, but enough to enter a contest? “I bet that'd make him happy. What were you thinking of making?”

“Peanut butter cookies!” she said, picking up a peanut butter jar from the table and tossing it around. “I mean, it's simple and not exactly contest material, but I want to enter something and I could make these pretty good if I work at it. Plus the recipe I found is for small batches, so we can practice them several times before the contest and not end up sick of them.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Alphys said.

It had been a long road getting Undyne to cook and bake decently. It wasn't that she didn't the enthusiasm or passion for it (she had both in spades). Rather, it was the opposite problem. She got so enthusiastic that she skipped steps or misguided the formation. The magic would end up confused and the food would not taste how it should. At one memorable meal, she managed to make buttermilk biscuits taste like fruit salad and look like pyramids.

After making sure that she followed the steps correctly, Alphys suggested that she bake them with magic, doing only a couple at a time. That let her get in practice in guiding magic through the fire. It required restraint, something that Undyne easily lost control of around fire in cooking for some reason. Knowing that, Alphys kept a fire extinguishing spell in mind.

The first pair came out as blobby and undercooked on top, black and crisp on the bottom. “What gives?” Undyne said, tapping the bottom and getting the top to jiggle. “I was telling them to be cookies.”

“Maybe you didn't get the heat all the way around?” Alphys said, mystified by the result herself. “The bottom got done really fast.”

“Could be.” She tried again, only to get slightly tough slightly overdone cookies.

“They're okay,” Alphys said on trying a nibble of them. But they were only okay.

Undyne looked seriously at the remaining dough. “I was trying to be reasonable, but fine! This time, you get cooked with passion!”

“Careful,” she said, watching for the fire to get out of control.

It didn't. Instead, the cookie pair seemed to be done just fine, except that they were shaped like shurikens and had edges. Undyne touched the edge of one, then withdrew her finger quickly. “Watch out, sharp cookies!”

“Sharp?” Alphys took hold of the other one, noting that it felt heavier than it should. And it did have sharp edges. “Huh, you could use these as weapons.”

“But they're supposed to be snacks, not weapons!” She threw one at the wall; it caused a crack and stuck there. “I mean, it's an interesting idea, if you went up to someone and told them you just had cookies, but they were these cookies... not good for the contest.”

She could come up with one reason this might have happened. “Were you thinking about your passion for battle?” she said, setting the shuriken cookie aside carefully. “Because that might've convinced the cookies that they were meant for battle.”

“Makes sense.” Undyne shook her head, then hit her fist on the table. “Then what am I supposed to be thinking about?! Thinking about what I have passion for doesn't work, and thinking about making them into cookies doesn't work either.”

Alphys didn't like seeing her frustrated like this. It was even worse because when Alphys made cookies like these, it wasn't that hard to think that they should be cookies in a positive way and get cookies as a result. “Um, maybe this is the point where you need to cook with love?”

“Huh?” Undyne asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe I worded that wrong,” she said, feeling tense in being put on the spot. “I mean, you are passionate when it comes to battles, but that's mostly because you have people you want to protect and be strong for, right? So you're really passionate and caring about them, showing a softer side when you're around me, uh, and others of your friends, I mean, you just care about us, right? Then make your cookies with the thought that you want the people you care about to be happy with them. Does that make sense?”

“Maybe that is what they mean by cooking with love,” Undyne said quietly. Then she grinned and got the next pair. “All right, let's give that a go!”

This time, they looked fine, a medium brown with a light sparkling of sugar crystals. They tasted fine too, not award-winning, but recognizably peanut butter cookies. “It's working out, you've got it,” Alphys said, giving her a thumbs up sign for encouragement.

“Yes, maybe not now, but by the contest, they'll be great!” she said, taking up the last portions of dough. “You're a big help!”

“Huh, well, um, not really big,” she said, thinking that she'd just been a little help. Still, she was happy with the compliment and just a bit hopeful... no, that was silly. They'd been friends for eight years. If nothing had further developed, it probably never would.

“If it wasn't for you, I would've given up on cooking years ago,” Undyne said. She set up the fire for the cookies, but something went different this time. A surge of power caused the flames to be thicker. For a few seconds, they obscured the cookies. Alphys worried about it failing again, but when the flames retracted, the cookies were different. They were darker brown and yet still didn't seem burnt. After stairing quietly for a moment, Undyne passed over one of the cookies to her.

“Huh, what happened there?” Alphys wondered, breaking off a bit of the cookie to try. It was astonishing, getting her to try another bite to make sure. A good crumbly texture, soft and not dry, the right amount of sweetness blended with the nutty, and a little something more. “Wow, this is really amazing Undyne! Especially coming from the same dough as the others. But, how'd the chocolate taste get in there?”

“Is it chocolate too?” she asked, trying the cookie she had. Her eyes widened. “That is good. But how did it change?”

“It's amazing you got it convinced to have an ingredient we didn't use,” she said. “Were you thinking of chocolate?”

“No. I...” Undyne frowned, thinking of something. “I was...” Then she grinned. Without any more warning, she grabbed Alphys and lifted her up. “I was thinking of you!”

The declaration got her mind wheeling so fast that Alphys hardly noticed she was off the ground. “Wh-wh-wha... Undyne, me, what?”

“Of course, this is the highlight of my day when you come over to cook and hang out,” she said. “But I’m always worried about you cause you downplay yourself too easily and you put on a face that isn't yours in front of just about everybody. I think you're special! And there's a lot of days where I just want you to see that, and, uh...” she looked aside, then back at her. “Damn, lost it. Sorry, but, um, Alphys, I, I love you.”

“Undyne, you...” There was a part of her mind that was screaming that this was a bad idea. She didn't deserve someone like Undyne; it'd all fall apart eventually unless she managed to bury absolutely everything (but that wouldn't stop the questions, not even time stopped that). However, a stronger need in her heart called out, hoping for a dream come true. She couldn't help but quiver as she said, “Uh, I never thought you'd say that, I always had a crush on you because you're really cool and...”

Oh, forget about using words! She tugged at Undyne's arm and got pulled in closer for a kiss. It was an incredible warmth. And then, their souls fell in sync. It was just a moment of the powerful sensation, one that many young monsters dreamed of finding with someone else. Coming from a mutual adoration that wanted to grow deeper, it was finding a design that made life more sensible. It was knowing here was someone she could love and trust absolutely, if that sync stayed.

It didn't, as often happened initially. It could be made to last. But to do that meant trusting her more and being honest, if what older monsters said was true. The kiss lasted longer than the sync and when that ended, Undyne was smiling in a really beautiful way, more gentle than usual. “Didn't see that coming, but, sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I got worried about things, like that you didn't see me the same way. Heh, that was obviously wrong.”

“I was kinda worried about the same,” Alphys said. What now? She didn't want to say no, but could she be honest? To give herself a moment, she asked, “Um, but could you put me down now? I'm sure it's no trouble to you, but, uh,”

“Oh, sure,” she said, setting her down. Undyne was twice her height and way stronger than her, although it wasn't that much of a disparity as some other monsters could be. “I just thought it was a cool way to say all that.”

“I don't mind it, but I have to say, um,” she really didn't mind being held like that, knowing she wouldn't hurt her. It was just going to be hard to actually say this without being tempted to just kiss her again. “But I don't know...” Seeing her shocked and hurt, she quickly added, “Nothing with you, no, it's just, I haven't been, um, entirely honest with you.”

“About what?” Undyne asked, crouching down and putting a hand on her head.

There was some resistance in her mind to keep quiet. But that brief bond that could be made permanent, she wanted that and it pushed her into explaining. “Well, just about everything. Like when you ask me what I'm doing on the computer, I'll say it's work but most of the time I'm just goofing off doing nerdy stuff on the internet. Or about those grasses in the marsh, I said they were scientifically important, but they actually make really comfy fabric and nearly got made extinct before my grandmother made a secret effort to save them. Or about all the book and videos I call human history, most of them are just cartoons, they're probably not real. And then...”

“Hey, slow down there,” Undyne said. “Stuff like that doesn't matter to me. I don't mind if you're doing nerdy stuff because a lot that you talk about anyhow is nerdy stuff to me already. But I still like listening to you talk about it; you care so much about it all that it's way more interesting coming out of you than anybody else. After all, I hardly meet anyone who can match my drive, except you.”

While that was nice to hear, it just made her feel like she had a pit inside waiting to swallow up this chance. “Thanks, but, that's all because there is stuff that matters. I've done horrible things, hurting a lot of people that really would hate me once the truth gets out. You remember I said I had that student Nevyn I wanted to offer a job? Well I was going to offer that he replace me, and I still think he could when he's older. I really don't deserve to be anybody, or having even a friend like you, I really shouldn't...”

“Don't go talking that way again,” Undyne said, now gripping her shoulders. “What actually happened?”

“It might be better if I show you, back at the lab,” Alphys said. It briefly surprised herself, but there was a feeling that Undyne wasn't going to hate her easily. It was in her eyes.

* * *

Loop 692 notes

that flower is getting bored. still killing but in a halfhearted manner unless someone gets him real angry. i saw him summon a chronograph and check it. something about the way it flickered and hummed made me feel afraid, like i was about to lose something dear. he trapped me and asked if i knew anything about it. told him no but it didn't seem good. flowey got annoyed but some measure of fear kept him from attacking. guess i've done a good job in the past of stopping him.

papyrus decided he was the Great Explorer Papyrus and has been traveling all through the underground looking for secrets, knocking on walls and looking for hidden puzzles. one of his more fruitful ventures took him to a room in the core that none of the workers recognized when he asked about it. all pictures came out messed up, black white and gray garbage pixels that you can sort of see things in. he also came out with an odd little cryptogram book, just ten pages. he gave it to me because he couldn't figure it out; it matches all the garbage text in my old journals.

he gave up the exploring gig when he found what he called a completely messed up space that reminded him of something bad, over in waterfall. won't say what it is, just that it's something bad. On checking it out myself, time-space is really screwed up there. i don't want to go in there myself.

the stuff that the cryptogram led me to is baffling, heart-wrenching. i don't know if i want to keep translating all this. while i know how the mechanics of time can be messed up, i can't explain this. and i don't want to. dad, what were you doing? and should i really find out?

met a strange fellow today. can't remember their name, but they felt familiar. they asked me what i thought of flowey, eventually stating that the flower was ineffective like me. i asked what was going on and they said i would never find out if i keep quitting on the journals. those words about the abyss really stick. then got the warning that the world would end again.

honestly, i have no idea what that end was, the dream of it just blinked out.

 

Loop 693 notes

while papyrus and i were out on sentry duty, a young human walked right out of the ruins. he's about my height and i could take out the kid, but there's that promise to the lady. might not be easy since the kid knows magic well, but it ain't easy to keep the promise either because he's killed a few folks in the forest, possibly before given his LOVE. then again, i can't entirely blame him. kid's terrified of us hardly says a word to me and papyrus.

papyrus caught the kid off guard with the depress enchantment, got blasted with hot water in response. fortunately his goofy response to suddenly sliding in mud got the kid to go easy on him. others not so lucky. the kid must have a chronograph. not seen it, but have definitely felt the effects of time stuttering back repeatedly when he encountered undyne.

got to talk to human kid outside mtt resort. he's scared enough that he didn't look at me and shook his head vigorously when i offered to chat a while. did get him to say that he was looking for something, not what that something was.

crazy flower has been hiding this time around. got reports of a few attacks that sound more like him than the human.

did not find that cryptogram again. the entries that i know i got translated are back to garbage text. figures, is probably a wasted effort.

not sure what ended everything this loop either.

 

Loop 801 notes

also, i asked about eyes and she said they were a normal color, haysull. can't figure that one out, does she mean yellow like hay? maybe the door lady is good at crosswords too if she knows words that i don't. -she does like crosswords. the word is hazel, it's used by humans to describe a certain eye color. now i'm sure that she's actually queen toriel because it was princess chara who also had hazel eyes. knowing who she is explains a lot. not gonna tell anyone else about this, her secrets are safe with me. after all, i've let her in on an awful lot that i wouldn't tell most people either.

kid's down to 10, really got me hopeful now that this won't end badly. frisk got excited over it enough that he forgot her rules and came down where we were talking. from what i heard, humans use a percentage of corruption rather than level of violence. LOVE 10 equates roughly to one hundred percent corruption, presumably 9 relates to ninety percent as he said some portion of his soul was not corrupt with this change. -i wonder how they explain that a soul can go over a hundred percent corruption with that system. still, we say to start watching around 5, fifty percent for them, so it seems reasonable.

been working at translating the older notes. it's explaining some nightmares, but apparently frisk first showed up as a scared kid who was fighting in self-defense and ignorance. once he started enjoying the fights, things got really bad. -can't figure out from my notes what frisk was looking for here, what he's still looking for now. suppose that will come in time.

digging past loop 700 has revealed something surprising: frisk does not seem to be present from 692 back. instead, i was most focused on an apparently sentient flower named flowey who had a chronograph. -i've also found other loops (663, 692, 767) where i also got the cryptogram message and started translating. when time restarts, the entries revert back to garbage text, perhaps messing up more like that. The message itself points to a particular loop, 159, and my notes say that trying to work on it tore at my heart.

-i went to go find the journal that loop 159's notes are in and just taking the book out made my hands shake. flipping through the pages makes me feel like i dread what's there. i could just not do this one. if the text reverts, it would be useless. but tori and i really want frisk to stop rewinding time. it wasn't always the kid doing this either, it was the flower at some point. perhaps even me before the flower and loop 159 is important somehow in understanding this mess. in that case, i need to read this journal no matter how much my soul does not want to remember this again.

-heh, it doesn't seem like me to be writing that previous part, too determined to solve something that i may not be able to do anything about other than pass on information. wonder what's different this time. maybe hearing of frisk's change, or maybe it has to do with tori. maybe even i'm fed up with doing nothing? sometimes when i dream of previous loops, i wake up thinking that perhaps doing nothing is its own sin when you know what will come.


	11. Facing Your Mistakes

Undyne wasn't sure what to expect when they passed through the frosted glass door in the Hotland laboratory. She'd never been in here before, primarily due to a warning sign that said it was restricted to lab staff. Certainly not an elevator that led to underground levels. While the door shut, Alphys got up the nerve to talk again. Whatever was going on here was a heavy guilt on her, making what should have been a happy evening into an awkward one.

But Undyne wasn't going to let that get to her. This could finally explain why Alphys never seemed to get better no matter how much she tried to encourage her and make her happy. Even the shock of finding that her anime collection was fictional stories wasn't going to get to her! Now, anyhow. Undyne worried about what that made her if her role models weren't real people... no, not now. She had to be strong for Alphys.

“When the king assigned me as his Royal Scientist, he first told me to study the barrier and see about finding alternate ways of breaking it,” Alphys explained, leaning on the wall of the elevator. “We've been hanging onto those six souls for six decades without another human coming in. First it was if a monster with the six souls had a chance of breaking the barrier. That might work, but there's a large chance that it won't, that it'll take one soul to break one of the seven locks and that soul's power will be used up. So we'd be sitting at just one lock on the barrier.”

“And that wouldn't make much of a difference,” Undyne said.

She nodded. “Right. Plus if the soul's power is used up taking care of the barrier, then we'll have to face the humans as we are as the one who absorbed the souls might no longer have all that power. Given what we know of human capabilities, like from that manga I translated with the commentary, that's going to leave us in a very bad position to try attacking the humans, or even just talking to them.”

“Is that one real?” she asked before she could help herself. “I mean, humans are powerful, the signs and murals in Waterfall say so, so some of that could be real.”

“That one is at least based in real fact,” Alphys said. The elevator dinged on arrival; she used an activation spell to turn on the lights in the tiled hallway. “Well, we don't really know what all humans are capable of, just really old legends and what comes from them. Still, the point stands that unless we do have at least one monster with a human soul, we're in for a rough time getting into war. I think it's not advisable even then.”

“We could, make them pay for what they've done for us!” Undyne said, gripping a fist at her side. She knew she could face a human in combat; she was experienced, trained, and well-informed.

“Except there's no way for any of the humans from when we were imprisoned to be alive,” she pointed out, leading her down a hall. Not that she had to lead, there was only one way to go from here. “They only have a lifespan of sixty to a hundred years. And back to what I was doing here,” she tapped a wall, “after a lot of research, I settled on seeing if there was some way to use monster souls to break the barrier. But that leads to the problem of we can't use the soul of a living monster to affect the barrier and our souls don't persist after death.

“At the time, I theorized that if a monster's soul could be made to persist after death, then perhaps a group of them could make up for the lack of a seventh human soul in breaking the barrier. Or even make it so we had Asgore absorb one of the human souls and used the five others plus monster souls to break the barrier.”

“That sounds like it could work, but how would you get our souls to last?” Undyne asked. And what would happen to those souls? The human hist... books and videos that Alphys had suggested human souls could become ghosts, but ghost monsters were something completely different from that. No ghosts like human ghosts existed for monsters.

“There's more problems than that, but I did get monster souls to persist after death,” Alphys said, pointing towards a turn in the hall ahead.

In the lit hallway, it took a moment to see where something that shouldn't be there was. It reminded Undyne of the mists that often gathered in certain rooms of waterfall, pale puffs with hardly any substance. This apparent ghost had a little bundle of pale white near its center and faded out until it was indistinguishable from air. As the marble-sized center drifted along, its mist trailed after. It did not appear to have any aim in moving, nor any means of reacting to them until Alphys held a hand out near it, causing it to stop.

“Then that's a monster's ghost?” Undyne asked, feeling sad for the being. “Who was it?”

“It's hard to tell now,” she said regretfully as the ghost bobbed around her hand. “They don't communicate anymore other than to make you think of something they felt or experienced when you're near them. Of that, it's really hard to distinguish much but some emotions or some thing they were focused on. When they could speak, they were clearly losing their memories and their selves. I waited too long and even at their strongest, they wouldn't be able to help with the barrier problem. All I did was extend their suffering.”

“You couldn't have meant to do that,” she said. Even for the sake of research, she couldn't see Alphys being cruel to anyone. She refused to go into combat even for artistic displays or careful sports.

“Right, I didn't think the souls would continue to have conscious thought,” she said. “I don't think they do now, just being fragments of who they were. It all started when I studied the captive human souls and found what makes them different from monsters. While there's multiple factors, all of what I observed tracked back to one source, a human's determination. They have much higher levels of it in their souls than we do.”

“You can measure that?”

She nodded. “Right, I can show you if you want.”

“I thought determination was just your will to get things done,” Undyne said, reaching out to the ghost as it came near her. It noticed and seemed to poke at her, like the tiny touch of an insect working out what she was when she held them.

A foreign feeling lit up in her soul, trying to reach home when dead tired. The path grew longer the longer it was walked.

“That's one thing it does,” Alphys said. “The will to keep going, to change even fate or to get something done. It feeds into courage, ambition, curiosity, persistence, optimism. Possibly more, the traits of the soul aren't something well studied in science because they're usually considered taboo for being spiritual matters. I thought, if a monster could be injected with a human's determination, could its soul persist after death? Because the rare monsters who have souls that persist a few seconds do have more determination than the rest. Asgore has the highest determination rating of those I measured early on; as the king, he is gifted with such power.

“Because I was trying to work with monster souls, I didn't want to try the injections with just any monster. I got Asgore to ask the healers for hopeless cases, monsters who had fallen down but not yet turned to ashes. I was able to create some determination based off what I extracted from the human souls and some creative chemistry. At first, I had eight cases from a landslide accident in Snowdin and injected them all with determination, a couple from the humans but the rest with the created trait.”

“And they turned into these?” Undyne asked.

“N-not quite,” Alphys said, rubbing her neck. “After dozens of injections, they actually woke back up. Given a few days rest, they were acting just as before. It meant that those who'd been sick were still sick, although those who were injured had healed up by then. But you see, determination itself is a potent trait that, well to put it simply, it burns through magical power quickly. I theorize that with their more physical bodies, this does not affect humans as much. Their souls are definitely capable of producing determination on their own, even without a body. For monsters who have less physical matter, there's a limit to how much determination we can handle safely. All of my subjects started to melt within a week of waking up, sometimes just a day if the dosage was too high and too sudden.”

“Melted?” The word itself caused flashes of memory, but not from the ghost that was trailing along after them. Memories of dreams where she died.

“And they kept persisting, not dying,” she said, horror and guilt in her words and eyes. “They melted together, briefly stabilizing into amalgamations of individuals. Their minds were still seeing themselves, forcibly connected to others. In one case, there were two shy individuals combined with a rowdy flirt. They were arguing and sobbing; they tore up one of the rooms when they found they couldn't separate. And this was after I told some of the families that they'd woken back up and could come back home.

“They lasted like that for close to two years, but could not maintain the determination they had. And that's how they ended up as these spirits, separated with even less of a sense of self than before. When they had woke up at first, I had been thinking it was a fortunate failure. But then all that happened and I knew, I couldn't tell anybody. It was all an accident, but people would still think I was horrible for letting it happen.”

Ignoring her weird dreams for the moment, Undyne put a hand on her shoulder. “Nobody could've guessed it would happen until it did. Still, you should come clean about that. The families of these people are going to still be wondering what happened. And yeah, they might get mad, but don't worry. We'll talk it over with Asgore first and see about putting a few guards nearby so nobody tries anything.”

“But it is my fault so I don't deserve that kind of help,” Alphys argued against herself.

“I'm not going to change my mind over you for this,” she insisted, not letting her walk off. “I mean, this is an awful situation, but it's tragic enough as is. I do feel bad for these people. But as you said, you didn't know this would happen and you didn't mean it. So, even if we were meeting for the first time, I might be mad for a bit but I wouldn't hate you over it.”

“Really?”

“Really and truly Alphys. Now those crazy folk who claim proudly that they're acting for the good of monsters when people and property get hurt by their actions, those folk I'm getting real close to hating because they know they're stirring up trouble. They aren't stopping or apologizing. I'm gonna help you with this; we can set things right, but you've got to be honest with more than just me.”

Alphys put her hand on hers and smiled a little. “Thanks, I, I've been feeling lately like I could do this, if you and my other friends were to help. Knowing you will, yeah, I'll do all I can.”

“Good.” It was getting late to be dropping in on Asgore, so Undyne promised she'd be back tomorrow to go with her to the castle in New Home in order to talk with him first.

* * *

Loop 159 notes

im not going to fool around this time i will save him ive got the space set up and all we have to do is hide him there and nothings going to get to him as they wont find him in a space between seconds

this wasn't supposed to happen! i made sure papyrus would be perfectly safe, unable to be struck by whatever cruel fate was obsessed with killing him. when i got him out, he was alive. but something happened to him in there and now he won't speak. he won't look at me, won't do anything. what happened to him? there should've been nothing in that safe room.

papyrus is alive, but every single one of his classmates is dead instead, through that LOVE 17 monster that kept killing him. is that my fault too? because fate couldn't find him, it struck out at anyone near him? why does this keep happening? i just want him to be safe, to be allowed to grow up and have his own life. i'm pretty sure that he wasn't dying early on, but my early notes have gotten illegible somehow.

no change in papyrus over five years. i've tried everything i can think of, spoken to every healer i know, but he won't respond to anyone and has those episodes where he acts like he's living in a nightmare. i have to do something to help him. but, it was in doing that that all those children died and he changed like this. maybe if he had someone else to protect him, maybe that would help? i don't know.

finally found what's in the safe room but i don't know what to call it. or how to describe it. when i look at it, it reminds me of the sensation of looking into the abyssal lake in waterfall. maybe it's another sort of abyss. if i use the safe room again, i need to make sure that dark abyss can't appear while he's in there.

i can't stand this, i have to turn back time. i must be committing some grave sin here, i think that every time i look at papyrus now. but this can't be right! there has to be some way to get through this with him safe. there was some riddle i was trying to work out, but that's not as important as him. i'm going back even further than usual to try out this new plan. it'll weaken me to work out the ritual twice, but i think i've got it this time.

 

Loop 801 notes

looked over the 159 notes. i guess no matter how many loops i live through, some things never change. but what's different is something i can't explain. i'm not sure what this safe room plan entailed, or what ritual is being mentioned at the end. there's also the mention of some riddle that i'd given up on that feels important when i look at it now. i think i recognize the LOVE 17 monster mentioned as old catclaw, the first high LOVE person i ever dealt with back when papyrus was seven. if that is him, it means that these loops can go on for a greater period of time than they have been. seems like i'll have to translate the notes before it to better understand what was going on.

* * *

After looking at the pattern and enchantments for a wizard's cloak, Toriel said that she could handle the work herself. It required a lot of skill because a fault in construction could leave a glaring weak point in its defenses. Or a necessary function, like friction dispersal for spells like Fleetfoot, would be missing and end up destroying the cloak on accident. Even though she was handling it, Frisk helped with cutting out the pieces. The cloak didn't use up all the silk thankfully.

He decided to go to the far cavern to search the human internet for a dress pattern with what was left over. Toriel was enough like a human that he should find something to work for her. Although she claimed that she didn't need a new dress, Frisk still wanted to make one for her. She'd done so much to help him that he wanted to repay her in more than just helping out in ordinary ways.

While he was searching, he got an email alert from the monster side of the internet, to his lab account. He logged in there to find two messages, one from SauroA and another from a name he didn't recognize: OssienG. Odd. She'd said she was the only one working there. Maybe it was one of those few others who had access. He checked on Alphys' message first, sent to him and yet another lab account, GasterS.

'I have a favor to ask of you both, as a friend. I'm ashamed to admit this, but my work as the Royal Scientist has been a complete disaster. In working towards getting the barrier destroyed, I looked into things we know little about and a lot of people ended up hurt. It's long overdue, but I'm finally going to make those results public. There's going to be a lot of backlash. Still, I'm hoping that the two of you understand and can help make sure this doesn't turn worse on misinformation.

'When it goes out, I will be trying to explain things to others, but they'll have reason to be skeptical of me. I won't tell you what to say. But I will give you this paper I've been putting together so you know what's going on. I'm really sorry about all this.'

This was intriguing; he hadn't expected to get that research from her before he got to the lab. How had it gone wrong? Frisk was pretty sure that the barrier couldn't kill anybody directly. If there were deaths related to a failure in such magic, it was usually due to a break when used in a dangerous environment like underwater or in space. Although he had concerns about how much energy it was going to take him to break the barrier.

He'd look at it when he got back home. He then checked on the message from OssienG. As it had no attachments, it didn't seem like it would take long.

'if you can read this, it was successful.

'you were first sent down here on a snipe hunt. as it happens, your snipe is real. it was something you could never take for your own. but we must do something to stop this cycle of tragedy and madness before it destroys you and draws in a new victim. therefore, you need to find the snipe and return it to whom it belongs.

'hint one: go to the spider bake sale and go south.

'hint two: you were searching for seven, but there's actually eight.

'good luck'

“What's a snipe?” Frisk mumbled.

He half thought of dismissing it as some prank. After all, he was pretty sure that there was nothing south in the room the spiders used. At least, nothing that he could use since he wasn't the size of the small spiders. That second hint made him wonder. Was this Sans? He had mentioned a bit about his mission to Toriel, but no one else should know that he was looking for the lost children. He still had no idea how he was supposed to deal with that flower.

While he could ignore it, the bake sale room wasn't far off his path from home. He could check and if it was nothing, the email was just a weird prank and he could let Alphys know that something was up with that account. Frisk went back to his original search, locating a dress pattern for Toriel. Since he had a number of odd sized pieces, he had to be careful to check the design first.

It took an hour more after getting the messages to find something that suited what he had. It was intended to use up odds and ends of various fabrics, but some dyes ought to make it interesting. With that saved on his tablet, he headed back down the halls and caverns. There were two sites where the spiders had sold their goods, at the grocery store in the old city and in a small room about halfway down this path. He didn't have any of their handmade clothes, but he did have a small collection of coins. Maybe enough to pick up a snack?

Frisk got to the hall leading to the sale and found spiders wandering around the floors and walls. At one end of the hall, there was Lupin building his wagon. All the various parts he was trying to put together, wood scraps, metal wheels, stone tiles, and more irregular pieces, they seemed to have been scavenged from the old city. The little spiders were helping too, transporting nails and screws or working with some kind of paste to fill in holes.

Walking carefully to make sure he didn't step on any of the spiders, Frisk said, “That's quite a wagon you've got, Lupin.”

The spider looked at him and smiled. “Thanks, it might not look like much now, but once we can get to adding fabric, it will be a work of art as well as a functional vehicle! Oh, but could you give a message to Toriel? She's the oldest monster around here and we're hoping she can figure something strange out.”

“What's the trouble?”

Lupin pointed over towards their bake sale room. “Something's going on in there and it's giving my little kin the heebie-jeebies. It baffles me too, not sure if it's dangerous or what. See, this morning, one of them was walking along the southern wall when they found a crack. It's the itsiest bitsiest huge crack that you've ever seen, I'm sure, only as wide as the tiniest spider foot but it goes from floor to ceiling. Still, I and maybe even you can see the thing, kind of.”

“A crack in the wall?” Was the ground becoming unstable? If so, they might need to be careful all around. Maybe even leave the Ruins.

Nodding, the spider looked back towards him. “And it's not just the incredible size of this crack that's strange. You can step into that crack; I can. All you have to do is touch it just right, and it tears right open into a colorless space. When I saw it, it didn't feel right so I took my hand away. Just like that, the wall was normal with the crack being back to a sliver. That kind of thing would go into spider lore that gets passed down the generations, but I don't remember anything like that in the lore.”

That could be what the email had referred to. “May I go look at it first?” Frisk asked. “I might know something about it.”

“Sure, and if you know a way to make that crack go away, please do so,” Lupin said.

There weren't any spiders in the usual room; they'd even taken down the sign and webs. On account of the weird crack? Frisk looked over the wall, not seeing anything at first. While he was walking slowly, a long glint in the wall flickered. He could only really see the crack when the light from the magical crystal here hit it right. In his sense for magic, there was a powerful tear there with a familiar feeling. That was... time magic?

Frisk called out his chronograph and held it close to the crack. Shimmers flowed rapidly around the orb, making the silver appear less tarnished than before. Across the surface, runes scrolled by describing what was going on. “A space hidden between seconds... unstable, it'll collapse on its own. Time on that?” He touched the chronograph, pulling the message back until he could ask for more details on the instability. “A few hours unless the power source is taken out. How'd this get made?”

Since he wasn't going to get more information on it just observing the outside, he touched the crack to open it up. As Lupin had said, it tore right open into a doorway with a gray stone walkway heading into a dim area. Frisk noticed that the space in there felt wrong. His chronograph noted that it was actually the time inside there that was wrong. If he went in, he couldn't reliably tell how long he was spending in there. He could get lost outside time and not be able to get back.

He nearly shut the crack, since all he had to do was tell Lupin that it'd be gone by the end of the day. Then his tablet rang, letting him know he had a text. He took his hand off the wall; the crack did not immediately disappear for him. Getting the tablet, he checked to find that OssienG had sent it. 'don't be afraid. you'll only spend a second in there from what those outside will be able to tell.'

This couldn't be right. He sent a text back, saying, 'Who are you and how can I trust you? That space isn't right.'

Fortunately, the mystery person was quick to respond even though it took several texts to get it in. 'my children and i are other victims of this cycle. at one time, i studied time by using a chronograph like yours, in order to solve my own impossible challenge. that crack you see is a corruption of space and time. i know those places well; this one is relatively safe and you need what's in there. as for how you can trust me, all i can say right now is that my suffering will not end unless i help you. but don't do this for me, do this to save yourself and others from my fate.'

Frisk still wasn't sure on this. The explanation that this space was a corruption was something he could believe. Still, go in there? He sent a text back. 'I don't like this, but I'll give it a shot. If what you're saying isn't right, I'm going to block you.'

'fair enough.'

With that settled, he put his tablet away and stepped through the crack. The air turned chilly, frost making his body shiver and his breath turn to mist. There was snow on the ground, loose and easily kicked up by his steps. At the end of the hall, it opened up into a gray forest. Barren trees sat under a blank black sky from which the pale snow fell. Through a break in the trees, he could see a cliff dropping off to further fields of lifeless trees and falling snow.

Was this Snowdin? It didn't seem right. When he called up memories of the place, he thought of full evergreens, bright snow, and lively lights. A magical forest underground where very little sun fell but snow often did, where a serene river flowed without turning to ice. This was a wrong version of Snowdin, too quiet.

As he paused in the clearing, he turned around to see what would be here. There was something of power around as he could feel it in his soul. Snowflakes brushed against his skin... wait, that didn't feel right. Opening his hand up, he caught a few of the flakes. They were dry. Not snow, this was a fall of dust. Monsters didn't leave behind ghosts or corpses due to their nature. They left behind dust like this.

The only way this amount of dust could be here was if there was a sudden massacre of thousands.

Time wasn't right here. “Is this evidence of my sins?” Frisk asked himself, looking over the flakes of dust in his hand now. “Yes, I did this. But why did I keep doing it? I remember a feeling of power. And, being powerless. I gave up control to keep returning, eventually had no control over my body as more and more fell to my hands under the remnant's control. But that time I still had control and was killing, why was I?”

Although he was just thinking aloud, someone answered, without words or sounds but something Frisk still understood. “You could not claim what you were seeking while its owner still lived.”

“Who's there?” he asked, turning around where he thought the voice was coming from.

There was no one there. But he did see something he'd missed before, a bright spot of red in the gray. Right, he was supposed to get something here. Frisk went further into this land of death to find a red cloth tied onto a tree. It had a soft feel when he untied it from the branch, a scarf with a fragment of something gold inside. Magical in nature, the fragment was insubstantial although it could be held with the scarf. A curved edge was smooth while the other edges felt like they'd broken off something bigger. As he examined it, a piece of a clock at 3 and 4 appeared.

“Wait, this,” he called out his chronograph and the two resonated. “It's a broken chronograph, a golden one.” Memories bubbled up from far back. “This was it, I was asked to find a golden chronograph. Who's it belong to?”

The soundless voice didn't reply and Frisk could feel the space growing more unstable as he had moved the fragment. Wrapping it back in the scarf to keep safe, he hurried back out, dust swirling in his wake. This was his past, he thought, and he needed to make sure it wasn't a part of his future.

Once he got out, the magic in the room changed. He turned around and touched the wall. No matter how he looked at it or ran his hands across, he couldn't locate the crack anymore. Frisk also checked his tablet to see that the time and date had not changed on it. He sent a text off to OssienG, 'I believe you now.' As soon as he did, the program told him that no accounts under that name existed on Undernet.

Maybe the lab account? When he checked on that, it also came back with a 'no existing account' error. But he still had that email with the name on it. Not even searching it from that got anywhere.

So then. Someone who researched time wanted him to get a piece of a broken chronograph, that Frisk couldn't claim while the owner was alive, and he had to get it from a space that somehow existed between seconds that had been there for a few hours but was gone now. Whoever this person was, they might not exist in ordinary time either. But he couldn't think of anything right off that would let him figure out what was going on with them until they contacted him again.

It'd just have to wait until he could speak with Ossien. For now, he left the cavern to tell Lupin that the weird crack was gone, then headed back for home. There were more mundane and useful things he could be doing now.

* * *

GasterS: So you're Alphys' student.

ElderF: You could say that. Who are you and how do you have lab access?

GasterS: I'm an old college friend of hers. It's weird getting back into this account, makes me feel like I have to be formal again. I used to use the lab for classwork but stuff happened and now I'm doing other things. Anyhow, It's nice to see her making new friends.

ElderF: I'm glad for that. What about the release of her determination experiments? What are you doing about that?

GasterS: While I'm doing some other work, I've been taking out the worst of the flames. Initial reactions were going to be bad anyhow. I just saw to it that people got a chance to cool down and take in all that was going on without increasing the fire.

ElderF: What, were you hacking to delete messages?

GasterS: Only the bad stuff and trolls. I noticed your work, neatly channeling what I left. You've got nerves of steel and the patience of a saint to handle things like that.

ElderF: That's hyperbole. I can tell from her work that Alphys wasn't malicious in all this, just unfortunate and a tad impatient. I don't know how well I did getting others to understand she was working blindly and does feel regret for it all.

GasterS: I'd say you did well, since we've got the families who were involved now defending her, or at least saying that they don't blame her. Now then, how did you get lab access and become her friend?

ElderF: She noticed my posts under the name Nevyn and tried to offer me a job there. Only, I'm still a teenager and not about to leave home for Hotland soon.

ElderF: But I'm really glad I got in contact with her, because I wanted someone to look over the work I've been doing on my own.

GasterS: I see. What're you up to?

ElderF: Working out the solution to bringing down the barrier. I've got some information Alphys didn't have and she has information I don't, so once I can go out there, we're going to be discussing the matter.

GasterS: Then what she was doing must've been familiar to you.

ElderF: Not really. Previous ideas she sent me, including the determination experiments to obtain more soul power, are focused on breaking the barrier like hitting a door with a sledgehammer. They'd work, but it's brute force that requires sacrifices.

ElderF: My method is more akin to lockpicking. Right now, I can't do it primarily because I need to be at the barrier's origin point in the castle at New Home and there was a few details I want her advice on.

GasterS: That's clever, but is there a lock to pick?

ElderF: Yes, there's seven of them, one left by each of its crafters. Each of the seals is different and my projections show some risk to the person doing the lockpicking. I'm hoping she can help lower the risks and confirm the solutions.

GasterS: Sounds interesting. Hey, when you get around to it, send me a message and let me help. I might know a thing or two.

ElderF: That's great, thanks.

GasterS: You're a friend of a friend, so I'm happy to help out.


	12. Blue Ribbon Baking

The next few days were going to be busy, but great! The baking contest deadline was in a week and there was already a lot of entries. Today, Papyrus was going to the capitol to start organizing them. Then they were going to try all the entries, announce the results, and get the contest cookbook put together. His plans were coming together great; there were even less incidents in the capitol lately, so it was working just as he hoped.

He made breakfast as usual, poached eggs on toast today. It was a good meal to sing along with making. While he was working on it, Sans was at the table with his journal work. It was something he'd been working at for years now. Papyrus didn't know entirely what it was about other than it was some research into time that got messed up because it was research into time. Any time he tried to ask about it, Sans' explanations just looped around and it hurt Papyrus' head.

“Here you go,” Papyrus said, setting the plate on the corner of the table near Sans. He had an old journal and a new one in front of him. “How's it going?”

Sans shrugged. “Slower than molasses. What about your work?”

“Great! I'm starting in New Home today, got a good bunch of entries and definitely getting a few more.” He thought happily over what he knew was going to be in, how the dishes should be presented for pictures. However, that make breakfast go silently. That was odd, since Sans would normally crack jokes, or just say anything. He was still looking at the journal. “Sans?”

“Hmm?” He looked across the table, half distracted.

He pointed his fork towards San's plate still on the corner. “What's eating at you enough that you're not eating or chatting?”

Sans just looked at him for a moment, then tapped the old journal. “Some things so old that they're a shock to relearn. Then I have to figure out the context, which raises further questions. Like about replicating time, and Dad...”

“What about him?” Papyrus had a hazy memory at times. He did remember their father working a lot, but he always made sure to be home for bedtime stories. And he would take days off just to spend time with them. Those had been some fun days.

“Maybe it's not good to think on that too deeply,” Sans said. It was abrupt, but got him to shut the journal and pull his plate over. “Working out this time manipulation consequences could mess with your head.”

“It certainly hurts my head,” he said, thinking of something. “I can't believe I have to say this to you, but maybe you should take a break from that.”

That did beak him out of the seriousness and make him chuckle. “Maybe. Don't want to break my brain over it, it'd make a mess of my skull.”

Although he groaned at that, he felt glad he was back to normal. “Come on, don't be that tasteless over breakfast.”

Sans nodded, cutting off a piece of egg and toast with his fork. “You're right, scrambled brains on toast doesn't sound appealing.”

“They're poached eggs, not scrambled, and that's even more gross,” Papyrus said.

“You're right, poached brains does sound more gross,” he retorted.

Okay, it was a good time for a change of subject. Or maybe change back. “Hey, so is that your journal or Dad's?”

“Hmm?” Sans looked over at him like it was something he hadn't considered.

Papyrus shrugged. “Isn't the reason you're translating them because they got junked up? And Dad was researching time too, so if the journals got junked up because of time being funky of constantly rewinding or something, how do you tell which are yours and which are his?”

He paused, a second piece of the egg and toast hanging on his fork for a few seconds. “That's a good question,” he finally said. “I thought they were all mine, but if his are mixed in, that explains a few things. Although, how am I going to tell the difference? The junk text is all uniform, so not by handwriting details. Hmm...”

“Well just don't go in a funk yourself trying to work it out,” Papyrus said. “You weren't acting yourself.”

“Don't worry, I'll find something else to do for a couple days,” Sans said.

As Sans never said what he'd do, Papyrus ended up calling him to come help with the contest. It had all seemed manageable last night. But with the deadline a week away, the number of entries they had more than doubled. By the next day, they had to change over to a bigger location.

* * *

Cinnamon was a lop-eared rabbit, the only one in his extensive family. There were a few family members that weren't rabbit monsters, but of those who were, his aunts and uncles, his cousins, his grandparents, his parents, his sister, they were all perky upright or outward ears. In contrast, his long ears fell straight down at his sides. Unfortunately, this was seen as utterly adorable.

His mother Choco and his sister Latte were going up to the capitol today for the finale of the baking contest. Whatever it took, Cinna did not want to get dragged along. His classmates said he'd be lucky if he went since he might get to try some of the entries right there. But that would not make up for having to spend the day with Latte. The first chance he got, he slipped out of the house and bolted.

Now where? He was too young to help out at the ice making hut. The library could be good, except they'd definitely look there. Maybe he should check out the western road? It was full of puzzles and sometimes the sentries would let people try to solve the road and reach the door at the end. They were meant to slow humans coming from the ruins down so they could be captured. If the townspeople solved a particular puzzle enough times, it was deemed too easy and set to be replaced.

Cinna got as far as the bridge before he saw that this wasn't going to be an easy way out. Evan the dinosaur was on duty there. As he was seventeen, he was working hard to join the Royal Guard at his next birthday. Since he trained with Undyne, the guard's leader, it shouldn't be a problem. Evan still worked hard at it. Currently, he was refining his telekinesis technique to make up for his handicap of having shrunken frail arms. This consisted of trying to make a Jenga puzzle as tall as possible.

“Hi Evan,” Cinna called, getting Evan to stand to attention. Which made the tower of blocks tumble over. “Oh, sorry about that.”

“It's okay,” Evan said, shifting the Jenga blocks into a more compact pile. “Hi Cinna, how's it going?”

“Okay, I was just wondering if the road was open to puzzle solving today,” he said. “Could I try, please?”

“Nope, sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “The small puzzle room by the Ball Game has been set to be replaced for a while and Sans finally came up with one to put there, so he's working on that today. I can't wait to see it, it's probably going to be something funny.”

“Yeah, I hope I get to see that one soon. Um... do you need any help out here?”

“No, and besides, kids aren't allowed to do sentry work,” Evan said. “I know, I didn't like that myself when I was your age, but there's plenty else to do. And isn't the contest event today? I thought you were going with your mother.”

“Well she'd like me too,” Cinna admitted, shifting his feet nervously. “But, um, my sister's definitely going and...”

And that's right when Latte found them. “Ah, Cinnamon bun-bun! Come on, we've got to get ready for the contest, just you wait until you see what I've got planned for us to wear!”

Cinna had tensed the moment she called out. So he didn't notice as Evan picked up one of his Jenga sticks and used it to poke him. “Yo, you should tell her you don't like that,” he whispered, leaning down to be heard.

“Um, I'll try,” Cinna said, although he didn't like being rude.

While he tried, his sister spoke too fast and he ended up going to the capitol anyhow. Latte had made him a lavender suit with pink and yellow cords, all twirled up in fancy ways. There was even a matching top hat with an ornate berry cluster pin attached. In his view, it made him look sillier than some of the fancy cupcakes there. The cupcakes at least had the excuse that they were cupcakes and could get away with ornate sugary frills.

“Isn't he the most precious and adorable bun-bun ever?” was Latte's view, and she was fond of showing him off that way to anyone who stopped to say hi to them.

Eventually, she got distracted enough with Mettaton setting up a stage that Cinna was able to slip away. His mother had said weeks ago that the baking contest wouldn't be that big even though it was open to the whole underground. When the queen had run such contests long ago, they didn't have a lot of entries. But something about this contest brought out a huge amount of interest. Maybe it was Mettaton's involvement. His aunt had said she wasn't going to enter her famed cinnamon bunnies, but then she changed her mind one day, saying it would be a fun thing to do.

There was enough interest that all the baked goods were on display here would be auctioned off to help the rebuilding from the riots that kept happening. The community center they were using wasn't going to open up to public viewing until after the televised announcement of the winners. Right now, he was free to look around at all the goodies without being crowded away. A lot of them looked really good and he recognized a few names. There was even an entry from Undyne, some peanut butter cookies that he would have liked to try. But his mom would probably say it was simple enough just to make those cookies at home, then never get around to making them.

Evan had said a couple times that he'd gotten to be Undyne's student by running off one day and trying to challenge her. Maybe he could do something like that? Although Cinna wasn't too keen on becoming a guard; that'd mean getting into fights. But what could he run off to do to get away from his sister?

* * *

Loop 801 notes

-papyrus made a good point that i can't properly tell if the journal i'm working on is mine or dad's. although if it is his, it's strange that i'm not mentioned in all the ones i've translated in the 100 range. i can understand because papyrus always died in those loops; no wonder i feel heartache before i even translate them. think i'll start with 160 today.

 

Loop 160 notes

this is not going quite as i hoped. sans has a strong will and intellect, which is nice but i feel like he resents me now. maybe he even realizes more of what's really going on. he is attached to papyrus and will stand up for him, even against me. he is my son too, so it hurts that we don't get along quite like papyrus and i do. in doing this, papyrus has changed too, although he's still the sweet innocent kid at heart. never thought i could feel even worse as a father, but there it is.

i've been studying that abyss fracture from my previous safe room plan. it's unsettling to be near it for long, so this really should never be used again. in small exposure periods, it causes me to think of things i wouldn't look into normally. like catclaw is younger than me, so it should be possible for me to go far enough back to eliminate him entirely as long as I don't go back to that time. but then, he'd be innocent and not deserving to die like he does later. what if something changes in his life to keep him from taking that dangerous path in life?

he killed both sans and papyrus! and it's a day i wasn't expecting to be deadly. No, i can't let this stand. i'l get them both back. Or can i? i've gone back (long eraser smear) i don't remember, over a hundred times this day trying to stop them from getting killed but i dont remember how many its just like before i cant stop this i see them turn to dust over and over and what is wrong with this why cant i save them

my chronograph is humming and flickering. what is this, how can i have this power and still be powerless? i have to

i used the abyss and cast catclaw into it. That worked, that saved them. but papyrus screamed and cried and i know sans hates me now. he knows something, but how? i cant stand this i just cant

* * *

Sans had come along to the awards ceremony to help out, but things had slowed down and he could go back to translating the old notes. And what do you know, going to 160 instead of further back cleared things up just as Papyrus had suggested. He actually had his father's journal here. There was even sense in why he dreaded this book, since apparently he'd died at least a hundred times in a row.

And he hated his father? But like his hate of Frisk, he didn't find it was strong once he got away from translating or reading it. There weren't strong memories of it to even explain it. Still, there were some things that caused strong reactions. Like the line that the chronograph was humming. That was a bad sign. Maybe how his own had broken? But what was going on back then to lead them to end up in a death loop that someone in control of time couldn't stop? And could the same thing be happening with Frisk?

Checking a clock on the wall, Sans decided to hold off on further translation so he wasn't distracted. He stored the notebooks away, then walked around the hall to see what was going on. Most were over at the stage setting up. However, one kid was looking around, Cinnamon who was one of the rabbit kids in Snowdin. He was in a silly outfit that was more decorated than some of the cakes here. It had to be Latte's fault. Really, the kid needed to speak up for himself more often.

Sans slipped off to get behind Cinna without the child noticing. It was one of the things he could do with his chronograph safely. “Hey Cinna,” he said.

He jumped on the spot, turning about and losing his hat in the process. “O-oh, hey Sans,” Cinna said, smiling nervously.

“Trying to blend in?” Sans said, picking up the hat.

“I didn't want to,” Cinna said. “Um, I thought you were changing a puzzle today.”

“Eh, that didn't take much time to finish.” He flipped the hat around, getting an idea. “Don't blame you for not liking this. After all, if it wasn't for the color, this might be a nice hat. Especially on you, looks way too cute.”

“Latte doesn't think anything can be too cute,” Cinna said, a quiet resentment coming into his words.

“There can be too much of anything,” Sans said, turning the hat upside-down. This took a bit of trickery, using a spell to access his box storage, then shifting through blindly since he didn't have a container aside from the hat. But he knew he had a thing... there. “Hmm, something in here?”

“There wasn't,” he said, looking at him confused.

“But there is,” he said, drawing his hand out and producing a black bandanna with white snowflakes on it.

Cinna's eyes widened. “Wow, how'd that get in there? It's cool.”

“You like it?” When he nodded, Sans helped him tie the bandanna around his head. “There you go. Doesn't go with anything else you're wearing.”

“I could go without the jacket,” he said. It was marginally better since the shirt was white; it was just the pants were still lavender with pink frills. Still, it made the kid happy.

Then Latte came calling. “Cinnamon bun-bun, where'd you go?” She turned their way and gasped. “Wha... why are you wearing that? It's not cute.”

“Um, but,” Cinna said, looking aside and putting his tan paws to his chin.

“Come on, the kid's old enough to dress himself how he wants,” Sans said for him.

“But I worked so hard on that outfit,” Latte whined, coming over and pouting at how Cinna looked now. “And it doesn't go at all with the rest of your clothes.”

“I do have some black pants,” Cinna managed to say, looking at her then shying away again.

“But it wouldn't be cute,” she said again. “You'd look like a vulgar little troublemaker.”

“It wouldn't be that bad,” Sans said, shifting the hat so she couldn't grab it from him.

Unfortunately, Cinna sighed and took the hat back. “Okay, but I don't want any pictures. I mean, any more pictures.”

“But what if a good opportunity comes up?” Latte said, grabbing her brother's hand.

There was some hope, Sans thought, in that Cinna kept the bandanna on under his hat during the event. Maybe he'd work up the nerve to stand up for himself someday soon. And in that hope, there was something familiar. Perhaps a parallel with his father?

* * *

Frisk's birthday fell early in winter, and it so happened that the baking contest results were being broadcast on that very day. While there wasn't a television in their home, he did have his tablet. With some work, he got it to project a picture on a blank wall so they could sit at the dining table and watch the event on the MTT network website. It was being hosted by the star of the network, a very humanoid robot named Mettaton.

“Hello beauties and gentlebeauties!” Mettaton proclaimed, making a grand gesture with his right arm. “Welcome to the event you've all been drooling over, with the results you've been starving to hear. Welcome to the Underground's Premiere Baking Contest!”

“This person is very flashy,” Toriel said. “Who's he supposed to be?”

“Some big TV star from Hotland, as far as I know,” Frisk said. “He is being over the top; a contest like this wouldn't be given the drama above ground.”

“But it is fun,” she said. “As long as they don't overdo it and have lots of padding.”

Fortunately, they didn't. Mettaton waited for some applause, then started in on it. “First, those of us who have been working this contest for months must thank each and every one of you for your eager participation. There has been such unrest in the past few years that we wanted to showcase a more peaceful way, a more creative outlet that any monster could aspire to. And you all have responded so brilliantly! There were so many delightful and delicious offerings that we had to break down them all into different categories to recognize the talents on display.”

There was a sparkle of delight in Toriel's expression at that. “That's wonderful for them! Maybe those computer networks really helped them out.”

“Might have, there was a lot of talk on UnderNet about it,” Frisk said.

On the show, Mettaton continued. “Oh yes, I speak the truth in this! And don't worry about rewards, we made sure there were plenty to go around. Our divisions went into breads, cakes, pies, cookies, and a miscellaneous for those that defied other categories. On this show, we will announce the first place winners of each category as well as the one among them that attained best of show recognition for the top of the line dish. The second and third place winners of each category will be posted to the contest's page on UnderNet afterwards, so be sure to check that out later on and congratulate all of our winners!”

They displayed close-up shots of the winning dishes to go along with Mettaton's exuberant descriptions. If the baker happened to be there, they handed over the trophy on screen. There was the 'tastes so healthy you'll go into overdrive' eleven-herb bread and the 'divinely soft and sweet, like the food of angels' orange chiffon cake. Of the pies, it was Toriel's caramel apple pie that won, 'an unexpected pairing turns into a melt in your mouth treat that you won't soon forget'. Then there was the 'lumpy and bumpy but oh so delightful' pebbled candy cookies, finished off with the 'it's so decadent and alluring that you won't believe it might be good for you' blueberry fudge brownies.

“Seems like there will be a lot of good ones to try in the cookbook,” Toriel said.

“Aren't you excited to have won?” Frisk asked, smiling at her. He was excited for that.

She chuckled. “Well yes, I'm glad they appreciate it.”

“And now, I bet you're all wondering which one of these magnificent munchables is worthy of being the supreme pinnacle of the bakery,” Mettaton said, taking up the card slowly to draw it out. “Which of these goodies did all of us judges love so much that we consider it the peak of kitchen talent, which would be worthy to stand alongside the queen's legendary butterscotch pie?”

“Oh my,” Toriel said, putting her hands to her mouth. Frisk burst into laughter at that, making her get embarrassed.

“That would be... the caramel apple pie from Ms. Myrrh! She couldn't be here today, but let's give her such a wave of applause that she must surely hear it!” He even led in that clapping.

“Well now you've got two legendary pies to your name,” Frisk said, going over and hugging her.

She put an arm around him. “I didn't expect it to go over that well. If I were there, I’d have no idea of what to say.”

“Actually, I can give you something now,” Frisk said, letting her go to take out his tablet and call out the dress he'd made for her. To work with what he had, it was short sleeved and striped vertically in orange, yellow, green, and blue. “Here, I got it done.”

“Oh, that's fun,” Toriel said, taking it to unfold. “The color remind me of sherbert. Thank you, but isn't it your birthday today?”

“Yeah, but if you're happy with it, that's great.”

She patted his head. “Yes, you did a wonderful job, I'm proud of you. It must have taken a lot of work to get all the dyes and stitching. And since you gave me this, I might as well give you one of your presents.” She got up to go retrieve it, as well as try on the dress and make sure fit right when Frisk insisted.

As it turned out, she had his wizard cloak done as well. It had all the enchantments he liked on it, woven tight along with the fabric so that they remained sturdy even under assault. She even added a few other enchantments on her own, like one that made sure the light material could keep him warm in cold weather. It kept the white of the spider silk and used purple for the trim, including an embroidered Delta Rune on the left part of the torso. While the rune was the version the monsters used, the whole cloak would be immediately recognized as matching his latest tested rank.

Toriel's dress needed a few adjustments to the shoulder, but Frisk's cloak fit him perfectly. After fixing the sleeves, they went out to have a picnic for his birthday and her wins. It was only out to the front yard under the lone tree there, but with a blanket and some special plates, it was a fun time. They talked about silly things, along with what sewing projects they could take on now.

And then she brought up something more serious. “You know, my son would've liked this dress.”

“Your son?” Frisk asked. This wouldn't be the eighth soul since that was Flowey, but he was still curious. Especially after a tragic story he'd read in Alphys' reports on her soul research.

“He liked colorful things,” Toriel said, looking over at the tree in thought. It got leaves occasionally, but they nearly always fell off within a few days. It only subsided there through absorbing magic from the area. “Whenever Asriel would be coloring, he'd use as many different crayons as he could. Chara preferred coloring something what it was and they'd get into debates on it some afternoons.”

“I don't remember which kind I was, but I think I rather coloring what was,” he said.

“It varies, I met one child who disliked any lines on coloring pages,” she said, reminiscing although she didn't seem sad this time. “Asriel just liked using lots of colors. He also got into cameras when Chara was around. Actually, the two of them were best friends from the moment they met. That was around here, since we'd come to visit...”

Since Frisk was interested in the story, he was paying attention to her when his vision started to darken. Then it went black and he found himself reliving a moment from many loops ago. The white dragon was surprisingly nice to him, but the ruins were small and quickly searched. Not finding any hint towards any other chronograph, much less a golden one, he asked her how to leave.

And she attacked him, after luring him down into a narrow tunnel where her fire filled the entire space. He attacked desperately, feeling there was no point to running when her fire would catch him going. And somehow, he managed to win only to get an eruption of rage from within.

“That was when I was born, when my soul's rage overflowed when you killed her mother.”

His sight returned to the present, where Toriel was leaning over, an ill look on her face. A black aura surrounded her. “Mom!” Frisk hurried onto his feet.

When she looked up at him, her eyes were red. She snapped her fingers and caused a line of flames to come between them. The blanket caught on fire, forcing Frisk to back off. The remnant then forced Toriel up and backed off as well. “You have no right to call her that,” the remnant said, sounding very much like Chara. “You killed someone's mother the first day you were in the underground, my mother. You killed so many more dozens of times over. You have no right!” It fired out several huge fireballs at him.

Frisk wasn't ready for this, but the cloak caught the fireball that hit him directly and dissipated much of the damage into harmless flames at the bottom edge. “What are you talking about?” he challenged it, angered that it'd put Toriel in danger. What to do now… “You're the one who wants to end the world for good.”

It kept up a barrage of flames, even catching the old tree on fire. “I want the power to stop you at all costs, even end the world if I must. If that is what it ends up at, so be it. You made me what I am and yet you still struggle against me. You should have just ended your consciousness if you really listened to your conscience. Everything will go with me.”

In the time it spoke, he found the core of Toriel's soul within the remnant. But how did he attack it without attacking her? He tried the same thing that got it to let go of Nasptablook, casting a cloud of magical static. While it made her face cringe, its hold remained tight. There was holy magic, which shouldn't hurt Toriel. He'd found the Holy Light spell she'd used in one of her books, but it'd still hurt him.

No matter, he had to get her freed. Frisk got Swiftfoot on to get out of the static cloud, then cast another cloud behind the remnant to buy time. The remnant caused a burst of fire around itself, clearing out static near it while he was focused on casting. Due to the nature of the static, it started crowding in on the remnant. But not fast enough to keep it from sweeping her hand in front of her to cause a wave of fire at him.

The heat was smothering; even with a cloak, it invaded his lungs and threatened to wither him from inside out. Frisk kept his mind focused and finished up casting Holy Light. With how the flame wave burned away the static, Holy Light had no obstacles to surround Toriel and the remnant. It also made him feel the fire on his skin. The remnant screamed and lost hold on Toriel's soul.

“Get away from her!” Frisk called, using wind blades again to cut off the remnant totally from her, then pull it back to him. “You're not Chara anyhow, you can't speak for her.”

Toriel collapsed and the remnant tried to fight getting pulled back. Frisk was still in pain, his throat hot and dry, his skin feeling burnt, now his head hurting trying to struggle for control. However, the remnant was only a partial being, not a full ghost. It lost and was pulled back into him. But Toriel was still on the ground, no longer shadowy.

“Mom?” He ran over to her side and dropped down to check on her. She didn't respond. What happened? Was she gone? Maybe he should go back and retry that, make sure it didn't escape him. Unless there was still something he could do now.

“You don't like that?” the remnant asked, mocking him. “Why don't you just go back? See if you can stop me.”

Something wasn't right here.

* * *

Asgore didn't get angry at her for failing like she did. In fact, he was really sympathetic for how she'd been suffering with guilt over the experiment. Alphys still held the position of Royal Scientist. But, what now? There was a year until Frisk would come and they could continue the work of breaking the barrier. Maybe she could look into why people were so riled up in the capitol and find ways to calm them down? She wasn't really a psychologist, but there had to be some reason. Or maybe she should review the determination experiment in a more detached and critical manner, figure out if there was something more she'd missed.

She got a message alert from her phone and half-considered ignoring it to actually do some work. Only half, she couldn't help herself from taking the phone and seeing who was messaged her. It was Frisk. 'alphis, my mom collpsed and shes not moving. What do I ddo?'

From the uncharacteristic mistakes, she could tell this was serious. She wasn't a healer, but she knew a lot about biology. She replied back, 'Do you have a phone I can call? That would help best.' Then she brought up a diagnosis program. It sounded bad, but it might not be as bad.

Frisk gave her his phone number, so she called him immediately. “Frisk?”

“Yeah, what now?” he said, near breathless.

“Calm down, I need you to check on some things and let me know how she is,” Alphys said, somehow keeping herself calm. “Does she look fuzzy or fading in any way?”

“No, not at all.”

Good, then she wasn't dying. “Is she breathing?” After that and a few simple observations, she got to something she had to explain. “Okay, now monsters should have a rhythmic flow in their aura, you should be able to tell by touching her. Does it seem smooth or irregular?”

There were a couple of seconds where he was trying to determine that. “Uh... seems smooth. Like a calm fire, like always.”

“Good, then she should be able to recover,” Alphys said. “Probably. What happened to cause this?”

She heard him mumble “Thank goodness” when she said she'd recover. Then Frisk answered, “A... a hostile spirit possessed her and I had to send it back out. I did use a holy spell on them, but it shouldn't hurt anything that's not corrupt or evil. But she collapsed when she was let go. Um, I do know that she's pretty old.”

“That might affect her recovery time,” she said. She'd not heard of anything like this outside of fiction. Although, it was known that a holy spell would not harm anyone with a low LOVE rating. “Here, I'll transfer a strong healing spell to you. That should wake her up. Keep an eye on her; if she still seems bad tomorrow, you should get a healer to her somehow.”

“Okay, um...” he was quiet until he got the spell over the UnderNet messenger. “That seems tough, but, I'll try.”

“I'll stay on the phone with you,” Alphys said.

After a bit, she heard a woman's voice faintly from the other line. Most of the words were indistinguishable. “Frisk... you do to your...?”

“It's okay, I had to do something to help you,” Frisk said, his words broken up in the stress of the moment. “No, you should rest today, let's just get you back inside. I'll take care of dinner.”

“I can back you up on that if you need it,” Alphys said, finding herself smiling. She shouldn't get too careless or proud, but she had helped them.

“Yeah, Alphys says you should be resting,” Frisk said. “Uh, Alphys, thank you, I had no idea what to do then.”

“I'm glad she'll be okay,” she said.

I love my Mom, I hope she does get better. LOVE 10 > LOVE 9


	13. Time to Leave

“That should do.”

There really wasn't a reason to do that. He just wanted people to know who was responsible. Yes... who he was. There was a chart on the markerboard here, listing those who were being imprisoned here. On that list, the names: Chilldrake, Tyldee, Razerscale, Burgerpants, Aldora, Kamylo, Geomica, Mabry, and just newly added, Catclaw. Good, good.

And, this really wasn't a good prison. There was only one good prison and that was for people of a high LOVE rating. Because most monsters weren't violent, that prison could only hold four prisoners. This place had once been an apartment, but was quickly modified to hold those identified as igniting or participating in city riots. The cells were just rooms with extra locks added and the windows barred off. While a few shielding spells had been added, those could be gotten through.

Strangely, these riots were a new phenomenon, patience breaking as anger boiled over. Why didn't monsters do something like this more often? This place sucked! Nothing ever changed. And the soft king only went around his kingdom telling everyone to be patient and hopeful. Meanwhile, the humans got to live on the surface, under the sun with a whole world to spread out in. They'd never been made to pay for their crimes.

That was going to change.

It helped that he had a friend in this, one he never saw but heard from often. That one taught him to embrace his anger, disdain, and dissatisfaction in order to shock the other monsters into making the change they needed to. Now looking at everything differently, he'd changed his name, to an outlaw he had once secretly admired for their power and style. Their legacy wouldn't end.

Still, there were obstacles that needed to be overcome. Other monsters who lived to keep this suffocating order and depressing peace. Luckily, two such monsters were in the prison today. A few quick moves and they'd be gone. He walked quietly to the interrogation room, not stopped even though he'd broken out of his room. By previous walkabouts, it'd take them a few minutes more to realize something was up again.

They'd even left the door to this room open, idiots. “My life was going nowhere! I had big dreams once, but they got squashed out by a mind-numbing job where I had no chance to move up to something better. All my complaints were taken as not serious, like I was blowing everything out of proportion. But you don't understand! That kind of life is horrible, I had to do something.” The prisoner broke down in tears.

While he scowled, he understood that feeling. But they couldn't give up. If they did, they'd just be stuck where they were. Or even worse with the stigma of being in jail. However, the voice that replied was not sympathetic. “It did not require lashing out violently like that. Your group hurt a great many people, burdening them with recovering their jobs, their homes, even their bodies.”

There was something in the voice that made his skin crawl. It reminded him of things: of a food merchant in horror because his food cart was smashed to unusable rubble, of a child looking out the window in uncertain fear of something they'd never seen before, of his family speaking in sadness and regret on trying to talk with him... of death and the ripples of grief it caused. No... no! He couldn't let that judge magic get to him! He was resolved, he would make things change because other monsters were resigned to their fate!

Moving quickly so as to not give them a chance, he rushed into the room and assassinated the two judges there. “Get yourself together,” he snapped at the prisoner in there. “We're getting out of here, and then we're going to keep going with our goals. And if you're too afraid, you're going to be made to keep silent.”

* * *

A group of newspapers were faithfully delivered to the castle every week, one each of the major publications. The news they had were often the same, but Asgore read them each when they arrived all the same. Today, it was the Snowdin Chronicles to be released and delivered. That was good, the results of the baking competition should be in this issue. He'd already purchased one of the recipe books for when it was published. What would she think, if she got word of this?

The Snowdin paper was best known as having some of the best puzzles in the underground every week. In fact, crossword rankings were based on completing the Chronicles puzzles, with other newspaper crosswords being worth less in the scoring. Their word searches and picture puzzles were often good too. On the other hand, he was not as fond of whoever was doing their main comic now. The art style was dismal and it liked to have arguments and battles for little reason.

As the baking contest had grown dramatically, the results were worth a first page spread, with more pictures and descriptions on following pages. The top winner was a caramel apple pie that struck Asgore with a bit of homesickness. It wasn't the usual, but the floral design of the vent holes was as familiar as the crimping of the edge. Still, it only made sense that her style remained as she had long been acknowledged as one of the best bakers, even when she modestly denied the claim...

The name of the winning baker was given as 'T. Myrrh'... her maiden name.

“Tori, is that you?” he asked, reminded of so many things that tears came to his eyes. Could he talk to her again? There was so much he wanted to say to her: ask for reconciliation, apologize and try to explain, even simpler things like introduce her to Undyne. But would she listen, and did he deserve that chance? “I wish…”

Something snickered; a shadow moved out of the corner of his eye. Asgore looked up, his vision blurred for a moment. Then he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Still, he had a feeling that something was there, headed for the stairs.

After taking a moment to collect himself, Asgore left the newspaper on the table and went to see what was around. There was another faint laugh as he got in sight of the stairs. Had something rushed down there? Maybe someone was playing a trick on him. Whatever it was, it kept ahead of him, always darting around a corner or go through a door just as he got in sight of the place. It led him down long halls, through the judgment hall, up by his garden, and then down...

He started feeling apprehensive as he descended the stairs there. Had one of the souls escaped? It wasn't supposed to be possible as they'd been put into containers made of a material that a soul could not pass through. They'd figured that out through some of the most ancient books in his possession, a battered one that only scraps of it could be read. If they got free, the souls would turn into ghosts that could cause a lot of trouble down here.

Asgore entered the morgue and found it a complete wreck. The coffins, although made of stone, were blasted apart from the inside, damaging the walls, light crystals, and anything else in the room. From bits of glistening glass, the soul containers had been destroyed. From the aura patterns in the room, they were no longer here. This had happened some time ago but he could not determine how long ago.

Wait, was one of them here?

Someone touched his shoulder and said...

…lost in the underground, alone with the monsters, cold, hungry, scared, angry, want to go home, can't go home, can't climb to that hole, leave me alone, don't hurt me, you hurt me, i'm dead, i'm scared, i'm alone, i'm trapped, please let me go home, please spare me, i don't want to fight, i don't want to die, please...

and tears and blood

“You did this to us. You must pay.”

Asgore shivered, suddenly feeling a deathly cold from the hatred of those children he'd killed.

* * *

Toriel had read most of yesterday, napping in brief spurts. Frisk had taken care of her, even mimicked the lullaby she sang while cooking so that she slept easier that night. While he felt guilty over what happened, it didn't seem enough to rewind time over. She could recover. He could avoid using the power that the remnant wanted most of all. But if things went wrong, he would go back and find some way to save her.

In the morning, the first thing he did was go check on her. She was still asleep, her soul rhythm slowed down but normal otherwise. Frisk made some of his oatmeal for breakfast, then prepared some eggs and toast for her. Since it was magical food, it could be made to keep warm and good for a long time. But she hadn't changed in the hour he'd been up. Nor the next hour.

By that point, she was mumbling and her forehead felt warm to his touch. Frisk sent a message off to Alphys, since she was his best resource right now. 'Mom's got a fever now, hasn't woken up yet. There's no healer in the Ruins besides her that I know of. What now?'

It didn't take long for her to reply. 'You'll have to go to Snowdin to get a healer for her. That is, if you can get the doctor into the Ruins. And the road between is full of puzzles made to get humans coming from there caught; they'll need to be cleared first.'

'Is she going to be okay if I leave her like that? I think I can get the door unlocked, but I don't know who I can ask to watch over her for me.' Lupin might, but he'd be busy. The rest of the monsters were too afraid of Toriel.

While he waited on a reply, he went over to her desk. There was that seal that kept the large door strictly one-way access, but Toriel had mentioned one key that could undo that if needed. Frisk knew that he could knock the door over if needed. Still, if there was a key in one of these drawers, that make things better. And... in the drawer just over where she'd sit, there were a few keys among the pencils, papers, paper clips, and other objects. Three were too small, more like jewelry box keys. One he knew was her storage room key. Then there was a hefty metal key that bore the Delta Rune.

Frisk took the metal key and got a reply from Alphys. 'It should take a couple hours for you to clear the road, maybe more if one of the puzzles stumps you. And I'll do what I can from here to disrupt the puzzles too, I can access a few. She should be okay for the time you need to be gone.'

Then he might be able to get back at noon? 'All right, I hope she is. I'm going.'

Going back to his room, he got out some boots and his cloak to wear. That should help him in the forest's cold. He put his tablet in its case, then put it with the key in the cloak's pocket. With his dimensional storage in the tablet, he was set. Frisk checked on Toriel one last time, in case she had woken up.

She hadn't. Frisk clasped her hand gently. “I'm sorry about taking the key, Mom. But I'm going to get you help.”

She didn't respond to hm, caught up in some fever dream. Frisk let her go and then hurried out to the basement hall. Last time he'd been down here, he hadn't noticed how the floor and eventually the air got colder the further one went along. Why did she come all the way down here, then? Nobody was down here, but she always came back in a good mood. Maybe it was some kind of meditation.

At the end, he felt dread standing there by the immense closed door. He'd been able to ignore it the other loop he'd taken it down. But now when he was coming back to himself, such an obstacle reminded him of nightmarish things. Frisk felt a fearful hate try to bubble up in response. No, this wasn't the time. Besides, he had a key this time. He unlocked the door and stepped out into the forest.

There was a footpath here, an area where magic kept snow from building up. Not even a foot from that path was the ancient forest full of trees that thrived on magic rather than sunlight. They were huge things, a number even taller than this door. Bushes were scattered between the wide trunks, but no flowers. As all of these trees and bushes were evergreens, rich colors spotted the white and brown. A silvery light and floaty snowflakes streamed down from overhead, making shining beams and glitters across the black ceiling overhead. If one didn't look closely up there, one might think they were outdoors on the surface, not in the monsters' underground.

Frisk pushed both sides of the door open as far as he could make them, then located some large rocks to place in front of them. Presumably, the key would work from this side too. But he wanted to be sure of getting back in even as some of the snow drifted into the hall. Then he headed out onto the path to Snowdin.

Not very far, he found his first obstacle: a wooden gate attached to a long fence standing on the other side of a snow-filled ditch. The fence disappeared off into the trees and the gate was barred shut. There was a sign on the gate that said 'Please Knock'. Sighing and not wanting to deal with the gate coming back, Frisk lifted a hand and knocked it over with a wind spell. Snowflakes rushed around dizzily as the gate and some of the fence fell on the ground. There, that did away with some of his stress.

Through the whirl of snow, he looked past the ditch and saw two monsters past there. Two skeletons, staring right back at him. One was tall like a beanpole, wearing a black trenchcoat and a matching bowler hat. The other was short like a stocky pre-teen, wearing a light blue coat with a fur trim. While they must look different this time around, Frisk knew that Sans was a skeleton and he would still look like one (if not as freakishly terrifying).

But, which one was him, if either of them were?

* * *

Doggo had trouble with chairs. They never moved and he had to feel them out. Even then, he messed up trying to sit in them more often than not. So when it came to being on sentry duty, he preferred sitting on the floor of his station. It was familiar; he'd set up the layout and made sure that it never changed. Plus his station had an opening underneath the counter so that anyone who happened to be moving on the road would be seen by him.

That day, he'd set up an audiobook and was well into listening to it when a flag whirled around overhead. That was the gate alarm. When it didn't stop after a minute, he reached over to the familiar place of the radio and paused the narration. Then he got up and took the couple of steps that brought him to where the phone should be on the wall... touch wall, wall, phone there... Doggo ran his paw over the keys to find the preset to Sans' station. He should be right by the gate.

When Sans didn't reply, Doggo then got the preset for Dogaressa's cellphone. She was the only one of the dog guard to be adept enough with phones to keep one. She was supposed to be helping out in the capitol today, but guarding Snowdin Forest was their job.

On the other end of the line, Dogaressa was checking out the prison house for clues. She sniffed around, finding lots of information. For instance, there had been two cat people here as prisoners. She'd think it was just how cats were, but then two of the other prisoners were dogs so she couldn't just blame the cats. Although, one of the cats had been with the two judges when they died. Judges had their own peculiar scent, in that it was really easy to think about your mistakes when you smelled a judge. Especially in an area when they'd used their magic. These two judges had not been using strong magic. Probably just their vocal effects; they'd not fought back.

Her phone rang and from the tone, she knew who it was. Doggo wouldn't be calling for no reason, since he had such trouble seeing well enough to use a phone. Leaving the interview room where the scent of death lingered, she answered. “What is it, Doggo?”

“The gate's been broken down,” he replied. “Got the alarm just now and I haven't heard from Sans.”

“He should be on duty today.” Although sometimes he'd be on duty and not be at his station. He didn't have the obedience that dogs had.

“Yes, I smelled him warping in to say hi on his way over. Of course, he didn't move.”

“Well darling and I can't come over,” Dogaressa said. “Lesser and Greater are watching our pups. Um, let me talk to Undyne. She will decide.”

“Good. I'll keep watchful and alert.” Once the call ended, she dialed Undyne's number.

Undyne was at the castle with Evan, meeting with Asgore. The king did not look well, plus he had several pieces of troubling news. “All of the coffins were destroyed and the souls were gone,” he said. “I have no idea where they went or how to track them down.”

“I'll let Alphys know, we'll figure something out,” Undyne said, right as her phone rang. The particular chime let her know it was from Dogeressa, who would not be calling when on duty unless something was up. “Hang on, this should be important.”

“Go ahead,” Asgore said, while Evan asked a few questions of his own about the souls.

And it was important news: the gate on Snowdin Road was down unexpectedly and the only two sentries on duty were Sans and Doggo. Dogaressa was still busy investigating the prison while Dogamy was on his own task. And Great and Lesser were busy, although some calls to people in Snowdin might get the pups looked after while the two guards went back on duty. Still, that would take time.

Undyne related this to Asgore after the call ended. “Of all the times for Sans to flake out,” she finished with a frown.

“He may be busy with other things,” Asgore said. “He's a judge. Raime and I had to approve his orders to go back on active duty earlier this morning due to the other two being killed.”

“But the gate's down and Doggo isn't a good one to figure out what's up,” she said. So she turned to her student. “Evan, I want you to get down to Snowdin Forest immediately and see what's going on.”

“Sure dude,” he said, slipping into his informal speech despite being in front of the king. Thankfully, Asgore wasn't a strictler for formality. “But, it'll take a while to get there even if I can catch the ferry.”

She got out a card. “I know, but I can trust you with a secret now. Take this and scan it at any public elevator for access to private functions. There's an elevator slot on one of the cliffs under the main road, Forest 1. It's only to be used in emergency circumstances and this may qualify.”

“Ah, got it, I'll be right off in a jiffy,” Evan said, taking the card by telekinesis and slipping it into a hidden pocket of his armor.

“What're the chances of this being a human?” Undyne muttered once he'd left.

Asgore hung his head. “If it is, we have to be careful. We can't let a new human or one of the missing souls get in the hands of the rioters.”

* * *

Sans knew there was a human underground. But he also knew when the human planned to come out of the Ruins. Thus, the sentry job was really unnecessary. Any other human who came down here would surely meet up with Frisk and Tori first. Their home stood at the way out, after all. Thus, he usually took his notebooks out to the sentry station. He'd gotten to the point where he didn't need the key booklet to translate the strange symbols. Still, he usually brought it along too and puzzled over if it had some other deeper meaning.

However, this day was not going quietly. He'd just gotten himself settled in when someone appeared just out of his sight. He recognized the particular magic to it, with tones only a judge held. “Morning Raime,” Sans said without looking at her.

“Morning Sans,” she said, stepping in front of his station. Raime was a tall slender rat, with a long thin tail that she often carried a ring of keys on. As usual, she carried her work bag with her, a leather case that held onto tools of the trade (including some things no other monster was allowed to handle). “Are you still working that case of the LOVE 18 kid with the civilian caretaker? The reports are very bare bones.”

“Well it is me, what do you expect?” he asked. “Actually, he's down to...”

Raime narrowed her black eyes. “I'm in no mood to joke around today. You're being pulled on active duty so you will come if called.”

“What, really?” This was bad. Being a judge actively meant being ready to take off at a moment's notice if trouble came up. With all the disruption in the capitol this year, he'd have to be away from home a lot. It didn't give him a lot of time to work on the translations either.

Plus, being an active judge meant that you were expected to fight against violent monsters, destroying them if they showed no signs of remorse. That meant being careful with your own LOVE rating. Be willing to kill when needed, yet don't allow yourself to become so detached that you became what you judged. When he'd been younger, he'd gone with the job for a while. He still felt bad over startling Papyrus so horribly once way back when, even though his brother had warmly forgiven him a short time later.

She briefly looked unsettled. “Yes... really. Things have gotten bad, Sans. Just last night, Sohla and Jeremy were killed when they were interviewing the imprisoned rioters, then the lot of them made their escape.”

“That's awful, I'm sorry,” Sans said, getting out of his chair at that. No wonder she had to call on him, what with two judges being murdered. And Sohla was Reime's sister too.

“I'll manage,” she said, although she looked away from him. “You, you're going to be in charge of Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland for the time being. The two of us can handle the capitol for now, although I hope we catch that villain that got them...”

“Hey, you're just out here with me, you don't have to tough it out right now if you can't,” he assured her. Really, she wasn't going to be able to do her job if she broke down out there. So Sans invited her to stay there for a little while, sharing some hot chocolate with her.

When she was gone, he took a minute to think, then logged in to search for open cases in the three areas he was now assigned. It was a huge stretch of the underground for one judge to look over, but the capitol had more residents than all the others combined. And Frisk's case was the only one labeled 'Serious' of the lot since the initial report had his rating so high. The next closest was Mad Dummy that, as far as Sans knew, was currently being used as a sparring partner by Undyne and thus they'd be dispatched by her if the dummy went further unhinged.

He'd just gotten done with that and other tasks he had to work into his schedule now (and he'd have to have a schedule, which irritated him) when Papyrus came walking down the road. “Hello Sans!” he called out with a large wave of his free hand. “You left without lunch today!”

“Hey Papyrus,” he called back, giving a small wave back. It was snowing now, fluffy but thick. “I've got some stuff over here, you know.”

“You can't live on hot dogs and condiments alone!” Papyrus said, hurrying over to the other side of the station. “You are going to start eating healthier and you are going to like it!”

“It's all pretty much the same, you know, formed from the same magic,” Sans pointed out.

“No! There is a difference!” He stopped and set down a soup thermos and small warm container. “Today, we've got vegetable cheese chowder all creamy and vitaminy and wheat rolls that are hearty and hale. That should keep you warm and going out here!”

He had to admit, Papyrus was pretty good at making vegetables taste good. Plus, it was a cheese soup and that made it sound tempting. “Ah, thanks for that. I can always use some cheese around your ham talk.”

Slapping his forehead, Papyrus said, “I am not that bad!”

“You're right, it is fun to guess how many exclamation points would be needed with anything you say,” Sans said, winking at him.

“Hey... wait, that does sound fun.” He rubbed his chin. “Anyhow, I must be off! There's book editing to do!”

“Hang on, I do have something serious to tell you,” he said, even though he didn't like it. But it had to be said. “Raime came by earlier; due to the trouble in the capitol, they're pulling me back on active duty as a judge.”

“What, seriously?!” Papyrus' eyes frowned. “But my contest was supposed to stop that kind of thing! Aw man...”

“You did your best and seems like some folks cooled off online,” Sans pointed out. “Still, they need me so I might be coming and going more often.”

“But you don't like that sort of thing, I know that,” he said, coming back to lean on the station's counter. “It makes you all grumpy and stressed out. Can't you give up that power?”

Not with two judges being out, not realistically. “Not right now. Besides, my reason for keeping those powers have stayed the same all these years.” He looked up at his brother. “I've got people I want to protect and someone has to do this.”

“Well don't let it stress you out enough to make you sick again,” Papyrus said, patting Sans' head. “And what about this job?”

“Can't leave today, I think only Doggo is out on the road with me right now,” he said. “But I'll have to let Undyne know later.”

“That is pretty low,” he said. “I can remember some days when the whole dog guard and the two of us were on duty.”

He shrugged. “The Dogi got called up to the capitol to help them since they're most capable, while Evan's mostly assisting Undyne wherever she's called. It's been a real mess up there some days; I'm glad Snowdin's been peaceful for the most part.”

“Yeah. So how's my gate doing? I noticed the X and O puzzle is still around.”

“Sorry to say, but Lesser Dog got excited one day and he and Dogamy replaced the gate with a fence,” Sans said, pointing out a small light on one of the station's posts. “It's even rigged to set off an alarm light at all Snowdin sentry stations if the gate is knocked on or opened without a guard key.”

“That's handy, but that gate was so great!” He leaned back and looked over that way.

“Want to check it out?” Sans asked, making sure he had the key first.

“Sure, why not?” As they set off, a thought seemed to occur to him. “Huh, so if you're going to be doing a job that makes you grumpy, maybe I'll look into making homemade ketchup and relish or something, something to cheer you up.”

“I'm sure that would great,” he said, really glad that his brother had turned out great at cooking. Papyrus was definitely a lot happier for it.

He kept musing on the thought, “I saw something about a zucchini relish in a cookbook of mine, so there could be a lot of variance to it. I don't know about the ketchup, but doing that myself will probably make it better than the mass-produced stuff you buy...”

Since he wasn't paying attention, Sans skipped ahead a few feet. “Hey, you might want to ketchup to me.”

“Hey! Don't make me smack you!” Papyrus hurried ahead. “I know you're using your powers and that's not funny.”

“You're still smiling,” he teased him.

“I'm still not enjoying it,” he said, waving a hand halfheartedly, which Sans easily chuckled at and got out of.

The play fighting didn't go any further as the howl of a sudden gale and a thump pounded at the gate ahead of them. While the build had been enthusiastic, the gate and fence weren't of the best quality. The gate was forcefully flung off its hinge, cracking into several pieces on the ground. Snow blitzed around the area, strong magic infused in the cold gust that was merely the wake of strike. On the other side of the gate, there was Frisk.

Strangely, he did not look like Sans recalled him looking. The boy was a head shorter than Papyrus, with pale peach skin that only had color when compared to the snow. He had black hair cut neatly in a bob and those hazel eyes that looked a bit like amber. While he wore a cloak as usual, this one was white with violet markings, of a silken lightness that seemed like it should be insufficient for the snowy weather. He bore a LOVE of 9, remarkably. Although, his soul did seem to be chained for some reason. What did that mean?

And why was he out here a year before he meant to leave? He was staring at them in shock, maybe some wariness. Sans felt wary too, not sure what to make of him still. On the other hand, Papyrus didn't pick up that the boy might be anything dangerous. “Um, you usually don't blow a gate down to pass through, you knock,” Papyrus said.

“That human did knock, just he knocked it down,” Sans said, snapping his fingerbones to cover for his wariness. “Guess we should have specified more on the sign.”

“Yeah, that would have gotten someone,” Papyrus said, but then his eyes lit up. “Wait, what? He's, you're a human?!”

Frisk nodded slowly, staying on his side of the gate. “Seems like it,” Sans said.

“Nyeh heh heh, we finally got one of you!” He clapped his hands together, his eyes bright and full of wonder. “Human, you're not supposed to be wandering around our territory, not in the Kingdom of Monsters! I'm the Great Papyrus, and this here is my brother Sans.”

“Uh, hi,” he said, trying to keep an eye on Sans while looking at Papyrus. “I'm Frisk.”

“Nice to meet you Frisk! Do you know what's coming? We are going to confound you with puzzles and capture you for the good of all monsters! Just you wait! I'm sure I reactivated a bunch on my way here...” he hurried off back down the road.

This was starting off well, at least compared to how it could. But he needed to figure out why Frisk was out here. “Well that's what's supposed to happen,” Sans said. “But then...”

“SANS!” Papyrus called from down the road. “Come over here!”

He did need to make sure Papyrus would be all right on the road since he hadn't been a sentry in a few years. “Sure thing!” he called back, then winked up at Frisk. “Be seeing you.”

As he walked off to catch up with his brother, he considered what part of the road would be good for getting Papyrus distracted so he could talk with Frisk for a few minutes.

* * *

Frisk's heart was pounding in his chest as Sans walked off, so he stayed there for a moment to calm down. He knew there was a risk of running into him once he left the Ruins. But, already, here in Snowdin Forest barely two minutes out? He could have handled explaining the gate business to someone if it was anyone but him (or probably not Undyne too).

A chime in his pocket made him jump, but it was just his tablet. Bringing it out, he noticed it was a text from Alphys. 'Don't worry about those two. Sans is actually lazy about his sentry work and Papyrus wouldn't hurt a flea. If they do somehow capture you, I'll just send a message to them.'

After taking a deep breath, he sent a reply back. 'Thanks, they mostly startled me. What kind of puzzles are ahead?'

She replied quickly. 'We can bypass three of them as I've retracted the spike walls on them. But the one ahead and a few others make use of barriers I can't take down from here, and then there's what Sans put up recently. You can ask me for tips about the rest, but I just found out about his and I'm still figuring it out. The first one shouldn't be an issue for you.'

'Got it.' He set the tablet back, then headed through the gate. It was nice to know he had her help, but the puzzles weren't a big worry to him. Not compared to how Toriel would cope on her own, nor how he was going to have to deal with Sans here. And what about his brother? Frisk didn't remember anything about Papyrus, not right off.

Right as he was thinking that, something did come up in his mind, a string of images. That soft red scarf in the falling dust, traveling this road and seeing that scarf waving behind the taller skeleton, eager and (most importantly) innocent eyes watching him ignore the puzzles and break the barriers through sheer power, disappointed but he still tried and talked to him. “...you're going down a dangerous path... but I believe in you... there's a good person inside you waiting to come out... you've just got to try... a hug of acceptance?”

Forgettable, utterly forgettable and his naive belief made him easy to crack. It wasn't even particularity enjoyable, not compared to those who tried to fight back. On the other hand, somebody didn't forget. Sans' eyes were bitter cold, desperate but he was going to make a stand while being in the golden light. Unlike every other monster he'd face, his magic was at its most potent just in fighting him.

Frisk stopped in his tracks, putting a hand to his face. “Oh my god...” he whispered, feeling a shudder in his body as he realized what should have been obvious. Except, he'd forgotten all about Papyrus.

That... Sans still knew, that much was obvious from the way he'd watched him. But his eyes weren't so cold today. He was giving him a chance. Although, he'd turn back into an enemy if harm came to his brother. Then... Frisk's thoughts were racing as much as his heart... then the thing to do here was be nice to Papyrus and be friendly with him. Then Sans wouldn't be his enemy. Maybe a friend too? No, that was going too far.

“I can do this,” Frisk mumbled to himself, walking ahead slowly. “Just have to be friendly, and optimistic. Be a proper representation of the Sunbeams, that's it. Just have to ignore that he's going to be watching me.”

At the same time, he needed to hurry along to get help for Toriel.


	14. Puzzle Road

It had been a long time since Papyrus had walked down this road. Some parts were the same: the giant amazing trees, the white snow, the sound of the river, the silvery light, even some of the ice patches. But for the puzzles, some were different. He'd thought for a bit of trying to solve them on his way back, but things had changed.

“Isn't this a lucky day?” he said when Sans finally caught up to him outside the old maze square. “It's been so long and there's finally a human down here! This changes everything!”

“Yeah, it does,” Sans said, thinking more seriously about it. “But let's keep this quiet for a while. No chatting about it on UnderNet or anything.”

“Why not? Everyone will be so happy to hear we've finally got a seventh human!” That meant that the day was close that they'd all get to go free and see what the world above was really like.

“Except those nuts who keep causing trouble in the capitol,” he pointed out. “Here, take my hand so I can get you through the barrier here.”

“Oh, right,” Papyrus said, taking his brother's hand so that they could walk across the maze square. If you weren't a sentry, the barriers here would block your progress going towards Snowdin. “This is still the same maze, right?”

“Almost, there's a few little tweaks we've made. But about the human, we can't let those nuts get him first. They'd lead us in a suicidal charge once the barrier is down, we've got to be thinking ahead strategically.”

“Ah, so having the human will be our little secret.” Although, that just made things more exciting!

It took a couple minutes for the human to catch up to them. Maybe he'd been nice and let them have a head start. In the meanwhile, Sans had explained what was different about the maze now. The safe path now had several arrangements that were shifted around regularly, while the tiles had been spread out so there was no cheating by walking around the square. But it was similar enough that he let Papyrus talk to the human about it.

Of course, he had to make it dramatic. This was a big moment, it needed big buildup! “Oh-ho, the human arrives!” Papyrus said with a wave. Frisk had stopped a couple feet from the square, glancing it over before looking across at them. “We've got a lovely assortment of puzzles to bamboozle and confound you today! And I think you will find this one quite shocking, nyeh-heh! For you see, this is the invisible electricity maze!”

“Electricity?” Frisk said, looking back at the square.

Papyrus nodded and brought out the key orb. “Yup! There's a barrier there that you can't get through unless you have this orb! But as long as you hold the orb, if you step on an improper tile, the orb will deliver a hearty zap! There is only one true path through the maze and you have to figure it out yourself! Sound fun? Because I think the amount of fun you will have, is quite miniscule, actually.”

“Oh boy,” he said, rubbing his head.

“Are you ready? Catch!” He then hurled the orb across the maze at full strength.

* * *

The key orb went flying by Frisk, so he had to scramble back a few feet to catch where it had fallen in the snow. “Sorry, got a little eager there!” Papyrus said.

The orb had a feeling of static at his touch. As he walked back slowly, he considered that there were many ways this could go wrong, including his tablet getting wiped to the point that not even going back would save it. There were several ways he could avoid that. Compared to the ancient barrier, these recent barriers were weak; Frisk knew that he could shatter them like glass in a snap. There was also the orb itself. If he insulated it enough, it would not be able to react to the tiles and he could just walk straight across.

But, he needed to be nice to Papyrus, who was looking forward to all the puzzles here. And really, to solve this legitimately was a cake walk. The tiles were hidden under a thin layer of snow, smoothed out to an even level with the untiled path. However, they had runes like electricity in order to react to the orb. It was embarrassingly easy to just walk where there weren't electric runes and not risk anything even holding the key orb. Once he crossed the second barrier, the whole puzzle shut down so it'd be safe to walk across freely even with the orb.

Sans didn't look too surprised, or his reaction was just too hard to read. On the other hand, Papyrus gaped at him as he crossed over easily. “You, you slippery snail, you solved that so easily! Too easily, that's weird.”

“I can see the magic in the tiles,” Frisk explained. “Also, you mean to capture a human? This maze is really bad for that.”

“Huh why?” Papyrus looked confused while Sans seemed to raise an eyebrow (that he didn't have). “Can all humans see magic?”

“Only those trained to, which isn't that hard,” he said. “No, the problem is the voltage you have can be deadly to us. We have more body matter, especially water, than you monsters, so making a mistake there is lethal, not disabling.”

“Oh, that could be trouble,” Papyrus said. “Sorry about that, we didn't realize it! But we can make it better. Just you wait until you see the next puzzle! It was designed by my brother Sans, so it will surely confound you! Nyeh-heh-heh!” Then he rushed off, nearly losing his hat in the process of going so fast.

“He seems to be having fun,” Frisk said, amused at the sight. He didn't think he could be afraid of Papyrus. Sans, though...

“No kidding,” Sans said. “He's been looking forward to this. But, why are you...?”

“SANS, ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!” Papyrus called from ahead.

“Whoops, I need to go ahead,” he said. “But we will talk.”

“Sure,” Frisk said, feeling his mouth go dry. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, so he glanced over to look. But there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Well, for here. The trees cleared out because the cliff line was drawing near the road. Far out there, he could see more of the forest down below, with a heavier area of snowfall.

When he glanced back, Sans was gone already. Not even walking ahead to catch up, but just gone. There weren't even any footprints past where he'd stood, showing where he'd gone. Frisk shivered, then walked ahead himself. What should he say to Sans? Or was it better that this had happened? He was getting a chance to redeem himself a little by playing along with Papyrus, showing Sans that he meant no harm this time around. Maybe things would start on neutral grounds when they talked after this.

The next area was a plateau with only a few small trees scattered about. Most of the ground had been cleared and flattened. Was this some kind of sports area? Because there were two plateaus and on the smaller one he entered on, there were a few benches and a small wooden bridge to cross over. On the larger one, there was a cleared field similar to the maze he'd passed. It was oddly shaped, in a Z-pattern with a very regular hole at the far end. But there were at least two paths onward that he could see, maybe more that were blocked by trees.

Thankfully, he got a message from Alphys. 'That's the Ball field, no puzzles there. Don't go straight ahead, that's a dead end area. Go towards the hole and then ahead from there in order to keep on the main road. Also, the next puzzle is the one I have no idea how to solve or bypass, so good luck.'

Frisk sent her a quick acknowledgment, then put his tablet away and headed on by her instructions. Past the Ball field, a line of spruce trees grew along both cliff sides, deliberately making this into a corridor. And the heavier snow was starting to come here, filling the air with puffy flakes. It made him glad Toriel had put a warmth enchantment on this. Although, worried too because it also had the feeling of her gentle fire.

There were two lines of torches on long poles here, four in each of them. A sign a few feet ahead of them had some rules, along with a collection of enchanted stones. Behind the torch lines, there was another barrier that'd be a little tougher to crack, at least from what others might think. Frisk was still sure he could shatter it, just with a stronger spell.

“Now you've come to a masterful puzzle of torches that no one has yet solved!” Papyrus proclaimed, his black trenchcoat shifting in the wind.

“That's because I installed it just this week,” Sans pointed out.

“That no one who has seen the plans has a clue of how to solve, I mean,” Papyrus corrected himself. “Think you can be the first? Read that sign and give it a shot!”

He felt like the point of these puzzles was to slow people down, giving the guards here time to intercept them. Still, Frisk checked on the sign. 'Goal: have all the torches lit at once. There is a balance that must be achieved, unlocking the torch's power while making sure none are overpowered. Equalize the colors; lighting the torches by force will be responded to with force.'

As he glanced over tips on what the colors were worth, he realized this was a logic puzzle. Each of the torches had two rings for the stones, but they each already had two stones attached. The torches must have a value within a particular range while each line had an equal value of numbers. Yeah, these puzzles were meant to waste time. He wanted to play along and not just break the barrier, but he needed to get through to get help for Toriel.

Frisk tossed a fireball at the nearest torch to see what kind of force the response was. The torch caught on fire, but flared up and shot a stream of fire at him. As it was single direction based on where the fireball had come from, it was easy enough to step out of its path. The torch remained lit for about half a minute, then extinguished itself.

Well, that was easy. He backed up, casting Fleetfoot on himself. Then he dashed forward, sending fireballs at the torches in pairs. By the time they reacted, he was past the spot they aimed at. All eight torches got lit and the barrier came down. The puzzle deactivated, although the torches themselves remained lit up.

“Hmm, I see this one is flawed too,” Sans said, rubbing his lower jaw.

Papyrus' eyes lit up. “Wowie, that was amazing! I've never seen anybody cast that fast!” Then something occurred to him. “Wait, but that's cheating, isn't it? Because I saw the plans and they're supposed to balance the numbers and colors out, or something. We can't have this, you've got to redo it without cheating.”

“It said the goal was to have all the torches lit up,” Frisk pointed out. Before they could respond, he added, “But I've really got to hurry, that's why I didn't bother with the balancing act. My Mom, I mean, Toriel, she was sick yesterday and when I got up today, she had a fever and she hasn't woken up yet. I've got to get to town to get a healer to bring back to the Ruins. I got the door unlocked, so I really got to hurry up or, uh,” he rubbed his eyes. Dang it, why now? He had to keep composed, get through this all.

“Oh no, that's awful!” Papryus said, coming over and patting his arm. “We're sorry, we had no idea.”

“Your mom?” Sans asked.

“Well she's a monster that adopted me, but she's still my Mom,” he said. “I hated leaving her alone, but there's no choice, she needs help and I don't know how to help her.”

“In an emergency like that, we can bend the rules,” Papyrus said, then looked down at his brother. “Right? You're the official sentry.”

Thankfully, Sans nodded. “Sure thing. Actually, hold on, I can do something more.” He dug around in his coat pocket until he pulled out a small orb that he handed to Papyrus. “It still works the same, but just in case the healer needs to bring her back into town, you ought to solve the puzzles so they're deactivated for the rest of the day.”

“All right, but where are you going?” Papyrus asked.

“I've got a few tricks, I can get over to the Ruins to check on her, then zip on over to town to alert the healer,” Sans said. “Don't worry, kid, we'll get this settled as quickly as we can. And I'm sure between the two of you, the puzzles along the rest of the way won't be a problem.”

Frisk felt pretty sure that Sans wouldn't harm another monster, and he knew that the skeleton could move about in strange ways. He could have the healer waiting to meet up with them in town. “All right, thank you.”

“Be seeing you, take care,” Sans said, then walked off through the lines of torches.

“Like he said, we can get through the rest of the puzzles quickly,” Papyrus said. “Think of it as a challenge, a time limit! Let's go!”

“All right,” Frisk said, feeling more relaxed than before. Some of it was because Sans was gone, but he couldn't deny that Papyrus seemed like someone who could cheer others up without trying. He'd be a natural for the Sunbeam club; they might even happily take a skeleton along if they'd take a kid with such a high corruption. Since he had to get along with Papyrus, he asked the first thing he could think of for a topic, “Hey, do you like baking?”

His eyes seemed to sparkle as they walked along quickly. “Like it? I love baking! That's actually my job now, well kind of, ever since I stopped being a sentry here. I cook fresh meals for people who don't have the time for that, even got to expand our kitchen because I've been doing really well! But I love making breads! I've actually gotten really good at making cute clover rolls, so I've branched out to making other shaped breads. I'm working at cracking a heart-shaped sweet roll now that is sure to be popular, that is once I manage to get the shape regular on a consistent basis.”

“That sounds nice,” Frisk said. “I've been learning from Mom. Actually, she won that baking contest just recently, but then she got sick...” that made him feel bad again.

Thankfully, Papyrus didn't let him feel like that for long. “She's the one who won? That's amazing, I'd love to get to chat with her when she feels better! Actually, you know, I'm the one who put that contest together.”

'Really? That's great, I'm glad you did because she had a lot of fun working towards it.”

“Oh, you could tell that from that pie,” he said, nodding along. “I am so jealous, actually, cause pies are not an easy thing to make. I'm getting to where I can make a good quiche, so I'll probably be able to branch out from there, but there's so much to think of. And her pie, well that was just heavenly! I've never thought of pairing caramel and apples, but they were so scrumptious together, like spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce!”

Frisk had to fight down a laugh at the comparison, which didn't seem right. But it was an amazing feeling. He was worried and he hadn't slept well last night, but here he managed some happiness, even a smile. How could he forget this guy? He was so lively and fun in spite of the dark attire. Or rather, how could he kill Papyrus? Although that was easy to answer: he hadn't even tried to speak to him, hadn't tried to know him as a person rather than as just some monster like all the rest.

Another wooden stall was by the road, like the one earlier. A rough looking dog with wiry fur and a rainbow punk tank top was standing behind the counter, his ears turned towards them. “Papyrus? Who's with you?”

“Just a fellow from the Ruins, Doggo,” Papyrus said, waving to him. “We're in a hurry, sorry, got to get a healer to his sick mother back there.”

“Is that why the gate broke down?” the dog asked, shifting his ears and eyes to keep track of them.

“Yeah, no worries, I'm sure it'll be back up once this situation is resolved,” the skeleton said.

Doggo nodded. “Good. Hope your mom gets well soon.”

“Thank you,” Frisk said, giving the dog a quick pet as they went by. Doggo smiled and wagged his tail. While he might've been a monster, he was still a friendly dog it seemed. “Hey Papyrus? What puzzle's up next?”

He rubbed his skull, glancing ahead. “That was... okay, okay, got it! This area here has a spike fence blocking the way forward and to find the switch, you have to find the map.” But when they got to the path ahead, there was no spikes. Just a long strip of metal in the snow which had a bunch of holes in it. “Wait, I was pretty sure the spikes came back up when I passed by.”

How to say this? “Maybe we can come back to figure it out once this is all taken care of,” Frisk said.

“Right, we'll do that! Although the Dogi usually just challenge anyone who tries to pass through their area here, hiding the switch to give them time to catch up. But the next areas have some real classic tile puzzles, and a more modern crazy one invented by the great Dr. Alphys, just wait until you see that one! If the spikes aren't down, we'll at least have fun figuring those out!”

* * *

What lay past the door into the Ruins wasn't something Sans was familiar with. There were history books which said that the old capitol of Home was inside somewhere. Because of that, he'd thought that maybe it led into that city. Instead, there was a long enclosed hallway of violet. There was an old green chair by the door, but otherwise it was empty. That at least made it simple to warp down the hall, which only had one turn before it turned into stairs.

And those stairs led into a familiar house. Sans had been in the castle at New Home fairly often, although most of that had been dealing with the few rooms judges used. While that and other parts of the castle were grandiose, the living area and this house were both cozy simple places that seemed like any family would fit into. It suited Asgore, Toriel as well now that he thought about it.

It didn't take long to locate where the bedrooms were. The first one looked to be a children's room, not a place he could imagine Frisk staying in easily. And in the second one past that, he found her. Sans felt a little apprehensive of doing this, seeing her when she wouldn't recognize someone was visiting. Still, someone who knew better how to judge an ill monster's condition needed to see her. Probably someone better than him, but he at least knew more than Frisk. If this was bad enough, he might need to bring the doctor directly here even if that negated Frisk and Papyrus' efforts to clear the road.

Her fever was high; that needed to come down even though there were lots of signs of fire magic in her soul. Since she did favor fire magic, some care would need to be taken to make sure her temperature didn't dip down too low once the cause of the fever was healed. That alone meant she'd be better in a healer's care. For now, her spirit was still strong and her body was holding together. It was an illness of some sort, but what?

Then he noticed: around her heart, there was some kind of spiritual bruise. It didn't look emotionally induced. Rather, it was like someone had managed to grab hold of her soul and handle it roughly. What kind of being could do that? Humans? But no, Frisk was genuinely broken up with tears when he'd been telling them about this, that he didn't know what to do to help her. That was when he should still have some emotional detachment, some disconnection from others. From what Toriel said, he was forcing himself to make connections to become less detached.

If Frisk had attacked her, then his LOVE should have gone up, and significantly since he addressed her sincerely as Mom. Not gone down to 9. This wasn't his fault. Something else was the cause of that bruise, and trying to heal that was likely what caused this fever. And Sans couldn't really do much right now since the healer would insist on bringing her back to be watched closely.

Still, Sans put his hand on hers for a moment and gripped it. “You hang in there, we'll get you back in shape.”

She'd been mumbling deliriously this whole time, most of which he couldn't understand. But a bit seemed clear then, her saying, “Don't hurt yourself, my child, Frisk.”

She still worried about that kid even though she was suffering. He felt like smiling at that. But, back to action. Sans patted her hand, then went to the door and used a bit of magic on it. It was something he was adept in casting without being noticed for it. When he left Toriel's room through that doorway, he walked into the healer's house and clinic in Snowdin. There was a weird feeling in the middle, what Papyrus found unsettling. Sans had done this so much that it didn't feel weird anymore.

“Excuse me, could we get the truck to go fetch a sick lady in the Ruins?” he asked snowy owl monster that served as one of the healers here. It required some explaining, but he and his partner agreed to get the vehicle ready to head out once Papyrus and Frisk got back to town.

* * *

Frisk was clearly having a bad day, not able to enjoy the puzzles as much as he might because of worrying over his mother. He just hadn't been able to tell them at first because he got scared of them. Which was fine, Papyrus knew of monsters that would be scared to hear that a human was down here. But even distracted like that, Frisk was doing really well at the puzzles. Not only had he solved Sans' torch puzzle in an unexpected way, but he figured out the current X and O tile puzzle arrangement in a snap on his first try, just looking at it once he knew how the tiles worked. It was amazing!

This human was just all around amazing. He liked cooking and puzzles, was smart and clearly cared about others a lot. And there was how he handled Evan when the young sentry showed up. They'd run into him once they were done with the tile puzzle. “Yo dudes, hang on,” he said, twirling a spear about at his side. “I came out to check on the gate, you been there?”

“Yeah, we're just getting back from there,” Papyus had said. Although, he hadn't been sure what to tell Evan. He was a good kid, but he worked with Undyne and it didn't seem right to call her in before they solved the situation with the sick lady.

“So what happened?” Evan asked.

“The door said 'please knock', so I knocked it down,” Frisk admitted, not afraid. “I'm sorry to take it literally, but I'm in a hurry to get a healer to the ruins.”

“Yeah, his mom is really sick so I'm helping him get to town quickly,” Papyrus said.

Evan immediately dismissed his spear. “Whoa, really dude? Sorry to hear that, guess we can let it slide. Besides, we can always build it better next time. Well I had to deactivate the ice puzzle just ahead to get here, so that's clear. I'm gonna go check on Doggo and Sans, then I'm heading back. Later!”

“Thanks, sir,” Frisk said, bowing his head. He had such confidence. Along with everything else, he was a really cool person. It was kind of a pity that they'd have to capture him once this was over and send him away. He'd be a cool friend, that was sure.

But this was a big deal! With the power of seven human souls, the barrier on the mountain could be broken and all the monsters would go free. Papyrus would finally get to go out to some real wide open spaces, to find the highways, the different cuisines, the surface forests, maybe even the puzzle gauntlets and labyrinths the humans made. But Frisk didn't seem bad either and to get to the surface...

Well, never mind that. Frisk was worrying again and he needed cheering up now. That was definitely good to help him with too. “It's always so nice being out in the forest at the start of a snowstorm!” Papyrus said, making some snowflakes twirl around his white gloves. “Kind of a pity I didn't bring a scarf out today, those are always fun to get flapping in the wind.”

“It is very pretty around here,” Frisk agreed. “But why is it snowing underground? And so cold around here? It's supposed to be a steady warmish temperature at this depth below the surface.”

“I remember that from school! It's a, what was it, a closed circuit weather system? Something like that. Anyhow, this place is actually pretty dangerous if left as is. For one thing, there's a massive body of water under Waterfall called the Abyssal Lake because it's so huge, dark, and mysterious. No monster has measured it ever. But not very far from it, there's a bubble of lava that's always rising up from much deeper. If the lava melts its way through to the lake, there'll be a huge explosion of steam and Mt. Ebott will reveal its true nature as a volcano. Which would be very bad for us.”

“It'd be pretty bad for my old home too, since the city's not far from here,” he said.

There was a human city near Mt. Ebott? “Really? I didn't know you all lived so close. But anyhow, we had to find a way to take control of the volcanic bubble and harness its pressure so that it could be dealt with safely. And somebody way back then found a way to do it, but it required turning this area really cold. There's a huge system involved, including the power plant in the Core which produces electrical power for the whole underground. Here, we need to harvest the cold snow and water to turn to ice, which we send downriver to the Core to keep it and the lava bubble in Hotland from getting too hot and exploding.”

“But you'd need to regulate the resulting steam, as well as equalize temperatures into a stable cycle,” Frisk said, figuring it out on his own from there. “I see, so the steam must get funneled through to here by the hot and cold air trying to even out. Then it gets windy and rainy in Waterfall, and ends up snowy here so you can make the ice.”

“That's right, you're really clever Frisk! I had to study all that a long time to finally understand what was going on and how the paper always knows what the weather's going to be like. I don't think I could compete with you.” Except maybe in cooking because Frisk said he was still learning that. Although, he had a very exceptional teacher.

“Not really, I've just studied a lot of things to figure them out, so it was just applying what works in one place to finding how this works.” Still, he didn't seem very happy with that.

Something had to cheer him up. “But you still took less time than me,” Papyrus said. “I bet you must have a lot of friends with that kind of mind.”

And he cringed at that as if it was a terrible thing to say. Why was that? Complimenting someone should make them happy. “Not really,” Frisk said, oddly distant and cold in his words for a moment. “I end up having to try harder to have friends than others. I threw myself into study to counter... other things, only you can't really study for friendship so right now, I,” his voice changed again, really hurt, “I just have Mom, and somebody online I've not actually met, so...”

That hurt just to think about, to do so much work to know all kinds of things, but then have hardly nobody to share those things with. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset,” Papyrus said, putting a hand on Frisk's shoulder. “Hey, but we can be friends. We'll have to come out to solve the whole puzzle road after all, and it'd be more fun as friends!”

That did make him smile. “Thanks, it would be fun. Just as long as you guys tone down the voltage on that one puzzle. And if we get an actual arrangement on that colored tile thing, that seemed really interesting.”

“Sometimes it comes up with ones that are actually impossible,” he said, remembering a few of those stories. “Like ones with a full line of red across the path, or a bunch of blue and orange with no purple. They try to arrange it so that the machine won't pick those arrangements again, but Alphys hasn't come up with a way to make it completely scan out the unsolvable ones.”

By then, they had made it to the long bridge just before Snowdin. On the other side, Sans already had the healer alerted and ready to go. The pale blue truck had its darker hood on, covering the bed so that a patient who couldn't move on their own could be transported back while kept warm and dry. “How'd you get a truck like that down here?” Frisk asked.

“Well there's some really clever guys who liked the idea of cars and trucks that we saw in stuff that came in from the surface,” he explained as they started crossing. “We've never had one of your vehicles get down here, but we do know how to build stuff, and so they figured out how to build their own with some engine diagrams and such. Of course, they probably don't work the same and there's not many working cars. There's not really the space to drive them around save for a few larger roads in the capitol. But we got this rescue truck made to run in the snow in case of trouble.”

Frisk was just behind him. “That's handy.”

Papyrus nodded. “Sure is! We even got a ramp for it built to reach the lower level of the forest! Except, there's not really any roads down there and anyone who goes down there, even with the truck, has got to be careful. It's nearly all wild down there, but the trees have got to stay because they help purify the air and make it fresher. That's part of that closed off weather circuit, there's blowers and shafts that get it into New Home and I think the old Home ruins too.”

“Interesting system, I'll have to look into its construction if I get the time. It'd be quite a feat to... um...”

Glancing back, he saw that Frisk had stopped and was looking down. “What's the matter?” Papyrus asked, stopping to turn to him. “Afraid of heights? Don't worry, this bridge and the ropes are perfectly safe! It's actually made of stone, with invisible paint put onto bits so that it looks like a wooden bridge! Isn't that cool?” It had been another project of his, which several of his neighbors had helped out with. That had been back when he and Sans had first moved in.

Frisk brought a hand up to his neck, touching an odd necklace there. Part of it hung tight to his neck, while some beads dangled from the front. “Don't do it,” he muttered.

“Don't do what?” Papyrus asked.

Then something seemed to grab into his body, digging sharp claws into his soul. It was a sickening feeling that was strangely familiar. Scarily familiar. Papyrus tried to jump back, but whatever it was stayed with him, darkening his vision and dizzying his mind.


	15. Bridges and Doors

This was not where he wanted to be, facing off against Papyrus when Sans was right there. Not when he'd managed to make friends with him. And then, on this narrow bridge that might be whole but was still over a long drop onto rocks and trees. If Papyrus was anything like Sans, then he'd have a lot of straight line spells that couldn't be dodged easily in this narrow space. So then…

Just before Frisk got off the bridge, and before Sans could get to them, the remnant summoned walls of dark smoke on each end of the bridge. “Do you really think someone like you can be redeemed?” it asked with Papyrus' voice, in a cruel way that didn't sound right coming from him. “Some fools might forgive you, some might even try to help you. But those sins will always remain on a soul that is no longer yours. You will always be a murderer with a trace of madness. There's no point to fighting against it, you may as well just accept again that that is who you are.”

“I've gotten this far from who I was,” Frisk challenged back, getting himself used to shifting his soul around the bone attacks. This wasn't quite as relentless as the memories that made up his nightmares, but maybe the remnant couldn't match that. “I see no point in turning back.”

“No point?!"

Then a trio of the bones struck him from behind when he wasn't expecting it, one of which that shifted so it wasn't caught by the cloak. And he was killed immediately, feeling like his soul had been smashed like a fly on the wall. Like before, there was a resistance to him going back, leaving him vulnerable to getting killed in the exact same attack. Frisk pushed himself to life again, this time getting a little further back so he could get out of the way.

“You've weakened yourself by letting go of your true nature,” the remnant said. “You made us powerful, then grew weak. You have no hope of being freed of me now as I will strike you down again and again, through everyone you think you care about, until your spirit is utterly crushed and you are completely mine.”

That was what it wanted to do, crush him through any means necessary until it got what it wanted. But there were things Frisk wanted to do. He wanted to help Toriel get better, he wanted to do the road full of puzzles properly with Papyrus, he wanted to solve these riddles and get the children back home. Maybe even himself, if there was a place he could call home now. Well, he did have Toriel's little house in the Ruins.

“I won't give in,” he said, casting Obscuring Static to give himself a moment to think. The bones Papyrus used were cut down in strength and speed getting through the static, but then those following had a clear path for a couple seconds before the static filled itself back in. And he died again, pain piercing through his whole body.

Then a heat of rage flared up in him. Idiot remnant, he could still shatter both it and its current host in a single blow. None of them could stop him from doing what he wanted. No one could stop him, he could just keep going and keep repeating things until he got them right. And whatever he decided on was right, since that was going to be how things were.

He nearly got off a powerful frost spell, taking this place to another depth of cold that should kill off the whole town and a good portion of the forest if successful. And then the remnant-possessed Papyrus killed him off again, disrupting his spell and smacking sense back into him. That must have been how he felt before. But not now. He had to do something, but after what happened with Toriel, he wasn't sure if casting Holy Light would help.

After another death, Frisk decided to push back further, looking for the point when the remnant cast the walls. His body shook at the effort, but he made it. Once past, he let time go and called, “Sans! Get over here!”

It was something he wasn't fully comfortable with, but Sans was likely the most skilled monster there. He was skilled enough to get behind him before the remnant got the walls up. “What's got a hold of him?” he asked.

He set up a quick barrier spell that he was pretty sure the remnant could break with Papyrus' magic. But it would buy him the time to explain and set up a better barrier. “A hateful creature called a remnant. It can be disrupted with a holy spell; I can take care of it once it lets go of him.”

“I can handle that, but it'll mess with you,” Sans warned.

“Go ahead.” They needed to do something and if something went wrong with him, he could just set back until it went right. Thankfully, he got his stronger shield off, making a sheet of pale gray in front of him on the bridge. Spells could be cast around it, but Frisk adjusted its position to show Sans that he could move it.

Sans then summoned up a pair of his blasters at either side of Frisk. Their presence caused a creeping feeling in him, a feeling like doors opening up to more doors which never led to the way out just to more doors keeping him trapped… no wait, that wasn't where he was. Something had happened in his lapse of attention, energy wrapped around Papyrus that caused the remnant to pull away frantically, trying to get out of the way. Before Frisk could even think to pull it back, Papyrus got control of himself and attacked the remnant itself. It screamed and shattered into hundreds of pieces, most of which turned into black dust. One piece still returned to him, closing the door on escaping it.

Feeling like he'd lost all strength, Frisk stumbled and fell off the bridge. He got himself back a few seconds on reflex, but it just made him weaker and dizzy. Fortunately, Sans got a hold of him this time and Papyrus was quick to run over. “Frisk! Are you okay? Careful, it can get slick up here.”

“Mostly, are you okay?” Frisk asked, looking up at him even if he still didn't feel right.

“Sure, a little weirded out by this stuff, but no harm done,” Papyrus said.

“I think he just needs to rest a while,” Sans said, patting Frisk's shoulder in a friendly manner. “Don't worry kid, we'll take care of Toriel. We can talk to the healers and see about letting you rest in the clinic for a bit.”

“All right, thanks.” He had to take Papyrus' hand and get help across the bridge to where the healers could check on him.

But it wasn't quite a relief since the doors were still on his mind.

* * *

loop 751 notes

snowdin forest got burned to the ground. the smoke of it is terrible to breathe, lots have died just due to that. especially in the capitol.

i tried to make myself fight them before the end of it all i just cant do it. what point is there in any of this charade? why am i in this hell where nothing i do matters? i feel like there's some reason i'm being punished in this manner, but i can't explain what i'm being punished for. why is this all even happening? is the human just that ridiculously cruel, to relive this massacre over and over, trying to reach some perfection in murder?

the human is dead and i can tell they're going to turn back time. but something's making it difficult for them this time, dunno what. while i might have a moment, i want to record that they cast some spirit of pure hatred out of them. it was dispatched and the human claimed that they don't want to be doing this. they do admit that they have killed but their words are devoid of emotion or regret. they also say that they can't give up. that much is obvious. are they being serious

* * *

loop 58

“H-have you re-remembered me yet?” a tiny quivering voice said.

It was pitiful. That flower had once welcomed death, acting with a crazed happiness. The more he killed, the more the flower seemed attracted to him. Now, it was afraid, trembling before him but something kept it persistent in coming to speak to him about now. There were strong feelings somewhere about the flower. But, strong feelings were either hate or joy in death. If there were strong feelings about the flower, it had to be hate. The flower had to die.

No... don't! It doesn't want to die! It's afraid, stop it... stop...

The flower died.

Next, it was one of the two actual challenges left in the underground in these loops, one of the only two names that mattered. Undyne was always an obstacle because she simply refused to die when any other monster would. She was powerful but predictable. On the other hand, Sans did not act by the same rules as other monsters. There were occasionally encounters with other monsters like him, but even those ones could be caught up in surprise at his power. Sans was never surprised; he knew how to properly fight a human.

The one who always took control of him had to really focus in fighting him. Bring down those columns so he couldn't hide, use as many spreading magics as possible to catch him. While Sans was surprisingly nimble with his teleports, sidesteps, and slides, he wore down quicker and one good hit would stun him just long enough for a major blow. The skeleton would go down faster through a physical attack, but aside from the sheer hatred that destroyed monsters through physical blows, he wasn't very good with those.

I'm just a nameless forsaken being, who'd gotten drunk off power and did some unforgivable things. There's no going back to my innocent state. But, I don't want it all to end like this! He says you have to give up, the hateful being says I have to give up. But I don't give up. I won't give up. I want myself back.

Get control back. “I... want... myself... back!” The Delta Rune he'd seen in many places in the underground appeared beneath his feet and the other being was cast out of him. Doing so electrified his body in a terrible way and he collapsed, just barely holding himself up with his hands. High magic? He couldn't do that. Could he?

As for the other, it was thrown into one of Sans' bone attacks, which was followed up as usual by dozens more that knocked the spirit into a fading state. It screeched and tried to cast a spell at both of them. Disconnected from his power, it was only capable of summoning some weak flames that his cloak guarded against and Sans easily dodged. The skeleton quickly refocused his efforts on the spirit, leaving it in shambles.

But a tiny little piece returned.

For a moment, the whole room was quiet and still, only broken up by his pained breathing. He was free, at least until the spirit reformed itself. But he was on the verge of death here, tempted to just accept it this time. No, no, he couldn't do that. That meant the spirit would get his chronograph and would be free to do whatever it pleased. And it would probably destroy the world again and leave it that way. Do not give up.

Then Sans was right by him, his presence bright and blinding. His unsympathetic eyes held memories of the victims, those whose names he'd forgotten because they meant nothing to his power. But, those victims meant something to someone. Promises and dreams blinked out in an instant, wishes and hopes left unfulfilled. Moments of fear and horror before everything ended. If he went back in time, they'd be back alive. That still didn't erase the fact that they had died and their dust was on his hands. In his memory.

“Who are you?” Sans asked. This wasn't an option of mercy, it was only a moment of curiosity sparked against all odds.

It felt very strange to have someone addressing him without fear or hate. “No one,” he replied. “I've lost my name.”

“You've done a lot of damage for being no one. Why cast out your hate now?”

He shook his head. “That's something else. I did kill, but I don't want things to be this way.”

“You are far gone, kid. Not even turning back time is affecting you; you look and sound like a demon.”

“I don't want to be.” He felt like he should be crying, but he just felt empty. “I'll find a way, I can't give up.”

Sans snorted, then raised a hand up. “You can start by not coming back.”

And he was executed.

* * *

loop 752 notes

the human didn't come today.

they haven't come this year. is it really over? the door lady is even still there, just the same as always. i've felt such a relief that i ended up crying today. papyrus made a fuss over me to cheer me up, but just the fact that he's here is enough.

* * *

Loop 59

This exorcism seal could be broken. He'd done it many times before. But not this time. No. His hand trembled and then the pain was like staring into the sun and being filled with pure light. It made him scream, just about breaking his mind. Still, he had to stay. Sans had given him a chance to stand his ground and he was going to do it by staying within the seal.

When the hateful spirit was cast out and he remained as twisted as before, the priest burnt through much of his energy to further increase the capacity of the seal until others could come to take care of him properly. They didn't recognize him as human any more. They looked at him and saw a demon, and demons were bound to an infernal maze to keep them from roaming freely.

Spectral chains tied him into place, shut in a small cube of a room with a single heavy iron door. He tried to keep there and contemplate how he could get back to being human. Since his hands were free and he was left with a few small things, there were tasks to occupy his mind with. Since his tablet was tied to his chronograph, he could write down his thoughts. But moments of rage, restlessness, and hate continually overcame him, eventually leading him to break out of the chains and through the door. Yes, he was a demon, he could embrace this new nature and do whatever he wanted. No, he was a human and he had to cast away any part of a demon about himself.

The next room was exactly the same size and shape as the other. But it had three doors, none as strong as the iron door. He bust through one of the wooden doors and found himself in yet another small cube of a room with three more doors. Same with the other doors. When he tried to wind himself in a circle, instead of breaking into the room with the iron door, he found himself in another untouched room with three unbroken doors. And he couldn't make his way back to the room he'd been chained in because the doors and rooms would repair themselves.

Room after room, door after door after door after door... no escape. No way out. He flew into a rage and burned his way straight ahead, exhausting himself to where when he finally found a different door, some kind of hollow metal door, his wrists and fingers hurt to turn the knob but he got through. To more doors.

No way out, just more doors.

He laughed in hysterical fear.

* * *

Loop 61 notes

door door door door door door door door door door door door (Loop 103 addition: Most of this was just me typing the word door over and over again. I cut the rest out except one section that does have something other than 'door' in it)

delta means door no thats daleth delta is fourfold but there basically the same letter the monsters use something like the delta rune as a symbol for them makes sense because the delta rune was used to summon them at one point I think thats high magic for summoning and banishing so the mgic works like a door hey if I can manage the delta rune I can summon a door that actually gets out of here or maybe summon up more doors but then I can control the doors I need to learn the delta rune I drew the delta rune all over the walls but have gotten no door yet got a sense for the magic so I think I can still do this the doors will be mine

 

Loop 68 notes

(loop 103 addition: This was a five hundred page rant about the doors and the Delta rune not working. It unsettled me to have to comb through the whole thing for anything useful, especially when there really wasn't anything worth saving. But when I destroyed a door in this life, it actually ticked up my corruption percentage so I have to stop doing that as much as I still hate doors.)

 

Loop 72 notes

(loop 103 addition: more door ranting deleted, escape door spell moved over to my spell research files)

I've finally done it! I managed to use the Delta Rune to get out of that place! And here's the set-up to actually get it to work, they can never trap me in with all those horrible doors ever again!

The trouble is, I’m still over four hundred percent corruption so I still look inhuman. I'm sitting here watching people go about their ordinary lives and it all seems so unreal to me. Sometimes they do things that annoy me and I want to squash them out like before. But I’ve really got to get this under control, figure out why the world keeps ending even with me trapped.

I've found a great place to hide, it's an old library that has been abandoned due to quarrelsome magical books and a demon that lurks in the basement. It's not violent and has no interest in me because it doesn't see me as human enough to play with. Actually, it barely seems aware of me most days. I can stay here and study. I've found many books that could help, about gaining self-control and emotional control, about things in magic the masters wouldn't teach me. This should do until I get my corruption low enough that the resident demon takes interest in me.

 

Loop 90 notes

Started at LOVE 34, ended LOVE 33.

The priest surprised me by letting me out of the exorcism seal without being bound to the maze of doors. My skin is covered in demonic markings, but I must look just human enough that he's giving me a chance. They put me in a prison hospital for psychotic criminals instead, in a padded room with a door that can be locked. I really hate that door, but I have to try harder. At least if I get stressed out, I can bust the door up and turn back time so the staff doesn't notice.

I think I should be bothered by the fact that I'm scaring every other prisoner in this place with my mere presence, but I don't feel anything aside from hating the doors for reminding me of the maze.

The psychologist who dares to work with me has been teaching me a prayer to recite while feeling the beads of this Penance Rosary they put on me. I guess it's working because if I get angry, going through the prayer lets the anger die off. Just about the only thing that it doesn't work on is doors. But I think a little bit of destruction and rewinding isn't going to hurt my progress.

* * *

loop 786 notes

this waiting game is starting to get to me. i assume the kid still has an actively working chronograph but they've not been down here in so long. the days go lazily by, very little disturbing this peace. however, i know that one of these days, my chronograph will give me that warning that the world's going to end in a few hours. no reason, no violence, nothing that i can notice and remember in the next round. things just reset back to the way they were, usually around ten years now. i'm grateful that we aren't dying like flies. and yet, i still am powerless and unable to control what's happening. i'm still living the same days, the same years, the same ways.

well, not entirely the same. i've noticed that even though the active chronograph doesn't come to the underground anymore, things don't go exactly the same way. it's very noticeable in papyrus. he starts off in a slump (which does hurt to see him return to every time), but one thing or another gets his attention and he pursues that. even when he chooses the same goals, like cooking, exploring, or ice sculpting this time, what little i remember and record shows that he doesn't go the same way to those goals. something about this strikes me as significant, and i can almost care enough to look into it. it's impossible, though. i don't have the powers needed to test this phenomenon.

* * *

“How caaaan you break my heart sooooo? I would have given the world to you, whatever you desired for it, just to see you smile at me like you used to do. But you're tearing me to shreds, please don't hurt me anymore. Please, call me... please, answer me...”

Frisk followed the singing voice to a wooded area by the river. He'd gotten fed up trying to rest and so had come outside to calm down. While the snow was still falling thick, he didn't care; he just didn't want to be inside. But in coming out here when everyone else was indoors, he heard this familiar voice and decided to follow it. The flower might run away again. Still, he had to try.

By the river, Flowey had a group of small snow creatures as an audience this time, stuck with tiny pebbles for faces. His footsteps crunching in the snow disrupted the song, but Flowey didn't notice until he jumped down a small ledge to get to the bank he was singing by. He angrily turned around and glared, but on seeing him, his eyes went wide and his petals shuddered.

“I don't mean to scare you,” Frisk said. “We need to talk.”

“Why do you keep trying to talk to me?” Flowey asked, trying to be angry but still shaking. “You can crush me in a second and I'm just a soulless flower. If you couldn't remember my name, I shouldn't matter.”

“You certainly sing soul music well enough,” he said.

“Hah hah, that's not funny.” He frowned, looking at the river.

“What is a soul anyhow?” Firsk asked, glancing around. There was a tree nearby that had a good sized root hanging out. A quick brushing off of snow made it a suitable spot to sit down.

“No one really knows but I don't have it,” Flowey said. “Some people say that it is the essence of your being, but monsters have their soul connected even closer to their being than humans do. And plants don't have souls.”

“Are you sure about that? If your soul is your being, that is, who you are, then isn't it impossible to be a thinking feeling being without a soul?” And some people believed that trees at least could have souls, but it couldn't really be proven. There was a lot about the nature of souls that couldn't be proven.

“I do not have feelings,” he insisted.

Frisk shook his head. “You can be angry, afraid, even sad if your song proves so. And the fact that you can sing is a pretty good sign of having a soul. I couldn't sing for a long time because I was restrained by soul corruption, so you were ahead of me in emotions being able to sing. Plus, you're making yourself an audience here, so you're creative.”

“That doesn't prove anything! I don't have a soul, that's simple fact!”

“Can you prove that?” He leaned forward. “Because I could disprove it.” Although, he had to think about that carefully. He couldn't use an attack spell designed to strike at the soul, but there was a way to target a soul.

Flowey shook himself. “No you can't. I dare you to try.”

“All right then.” And the simplest way was a spell he'd already used. Tracing a few runes in the air, he explained, “I have a spell that can locate souls as long as I know their name, to find people and ghosts… Flowey.” Frisk opened his eyes and the white arrow was back, pointing right at the flower.

Looking at the arrow in disbelief, Flowey popped below the ground. The arrow faithfully tracked him until he popped out a foot away. “That's nuts. I don't believe you. I don't feel love or anything, so I can't possibly have a soul.”

“I think being unable to love makes you a sociopath, not soulless,” Frisk said.

“Whatever. Why are you trying to help me?”

He shrugged. “Because you apparently need help. I am trying to be concerned about you, but I hardly see you.”

“Don't bother, I'll be your enemy soon enough,” Flowey claimed with bravado. “Just you wait until you see what's in the works. I bet it'll scare even you.”

“That's not going to stop me from trying to befriend you,” he said. Although this couldn't be the usual way people went about making friends.

“Hah, you can't take on a challenge like that,” he said. “It's not even a challenge; it's stupid, that's what it is. You should try something else. Anyhow, what are you doing here? I thought you were hiding out in the ruins.”

“Mom got really sick and so I came over here to get a doctor for her,” he explained.

“Mom?” He leaned forward. “What, you don't seriously mean _her_ , do you?”

“I mean Toriel, she's been like my mom all this time.”

Somehow, that got him angry. “Oh no you don't, you stay away from her! You mess with her, I'll… I'll...” he leaned back, pulling his petals in.

“What, you care about her enough that you'll defend her?” Frisk asked. “I would. What does she matter to you?”

“Well what does she matter to you?!” Flowey snarled. “That's it, I'm gonna be watching you from now on. No funny business, mister, or I'll find a way to get at you.” He then burrowed back underground and hurried away.

There was a strange possibility here, something he'd have to look into. Frisk leaned back against the tree, thinking through it. While he wasn't entirely sure, he thought there was a library in Snowdin. Toriel might be under the healer's care for a few days at least, so he might be able to find some books that she didn't have there. Or there was always trying to reach Alphys early, there might be ways she could help.

“FRISK, WHERE ARE YOU?!” a boisterous voice called into the trees. “IT'S SNOWING, YOU OUGHT TO BE INSIDE!”

“I'm over here, Papyrus,” he called back, getting up from the tree root and getting back up to the footpath he'd taken to this spot.

The taller skeleton was there in seconds, snow starting to fill out the brim of his hat. “Oh thank goodness, we were worried when we got back and you weren't in. It's cold and you're all skin without any fur!”

“I've got my cloak,” he said, tugging at the hood. “It's enchanted to keep warm, so I’m fine. I just couldn't stay inside for long.”

“Well if you're bored, Sans and I can hang out with you. Nobody should be on the road with the storm getting to full force. And besides, he said something like he's supposed to keep an eye on you.”

He knew some of why Sans would want to keep an eye on him. But if Papyrus was going to be there, it shouldn't be too bad. He could be the bridge between them to keep things peaceful. “Well he is a sentry that's supposed to capture humans. How's Mom?”

“The doc says she's in bad shape, but not to worry! They're working at healing her and with a few days rest, she ought to be just fine. And did you know that she's the queen who's been missing for decades? It's amazing, nobody's been able to find a hint as to where she went and here she is now!”

“Well she was behind a sealed door,” Frisk pointed out.

Papyrus nodded. “Right. Oh, but I realized, this makes you the prince, doesn't it? It's kind of weird that we have to capture you later.”

“I'm not a prince, I think you have to be presented as one or something.”

“But you could be! You've even got the right colors for it!”

They got back to the clinic to wait out the storm. It was mostly him and Papyrus talking, with Sans listening in and cracking jokes on occasion. But it was still a pretty good day now that he was sure Toriel would be okay.


	16. Underground Snow

Undyne had canceled their dinner plans today, as she was worried over Asgore and wanted to stay with him. Since she regarded him in a fatherly manner, it was understandable. Alphys used the time to go back over the facts she'd gotten in the determination experiments. Mostly, it was because of the other thing Undyne had told her: the human souls that Asgore had been keeping had escaped. They needed to locate the six of them and get them secured again. Hopefully before the rioters found them, that would be disastrous if one of them absorbed a soul.

What exactly was this essence she was calling determination? It was a trait of people and even in monsters, there would be some determination. Not a lot, not enough to cause their souls to persist. Except, theoretically, those souls marked as royalty or true heroes, as they were supposed to be able to persist briefly after death. But there wasn't a way to test that. Determination in the monster souls that she'd worked on degraded and wasn't replaced, but the small amount in a living monster could be replaced. Determination also was continued within the six human souls. Why?

If she could scan areas of the underground for unusual concentrations of determination, she might be able to locate the souls. The equipment she needed for that was too large to carry around, unfortunately. Even if she got Undyne to help, some passages were too narrow. What about using the camera network? It wasn’t a full spread… oh, but then she'd have to adapt the cameras themselves to pick up on that essence.

Alphys wondered for a moment if Frisk knew anything about ghosts. Might as well ask. She sent him a text message, 'What can you tell me about human souls after death?'

There were also her records stating how the human souls had appeared within their containers. They were best visible in darkness, faint colored glows that had a shape like a heart. In that case, it might be best to search for them without lights on, in night cycles. It'd be best to ask locals for assistance in searching areas she wasn't familiar with. But how to capture them at all? They could remake the containers, but how to lure them back in?

Frisk then replied, 'Depends on what you want to know, though I may have to take some time remembering it all. Why do you ask?'

All right, now how to word this so it didn't offend him… Undyne was encouraging her to be honest, but given the skill he'd shown in bypassing Sans' puzzle, they really didn't want Frisk as an enemy. Was he the same human they dreamed of? He had the right kind of cloak, except in the wrong colors. In fact, those colors, the white and the purple, those were what the royal family used. It was probably a coincidence.

She shouldn't hide the problem when she was looking for some help with it. 'We had some human souls down here, but we've lost track of them. You remember the background part of my experiments? We don't want just anyone to stumble on those souls and absorb them.'

Right, that was going to be a major obstacle in regaining those souls, doing this without the wrong people hearing about it. But her observations were based on the souls being captive. They had very little activity while she'd been watching, although recordings showed that sometimes they'd move around their container and push around the edges. Because of that, she had no idea of how they'd behave outside captivity. It wasn't supposed to be an issue.

She watched through a few of the videos where they'd done something, including a time when the yellow soul had managed to nudge its container over a couple inches towards the edge. It had been trying to get out. Maybe it was aware of its situation at that point, with the container on a shelf? They might be near the barrier trying to get out.

Just as she was thinking that it was taking Frisk a while to respond, he finally did. 'The children? I'm on a mission to bring them back home. So I know how to find them, but before I tell you anything more, I want you to be aware that that's the reason I’m bringing down the barrier.'

Alphys read over the message thrice, then sighed. “Right, that makes sense. But what am I supposed to tell Undyne? That I know someone who can find them but is going to take them away? Once she hears that he's a human, she won't want to cooperate with him. And what if she hears that I'm helping him? She mentioned the Snowdin gate being down, so she might already suspect there's a human down here. What do I do? Aw crud.”

Undyne was going to complicate this. Still, they needed to get the souls contained. Alphys just needed to do some planning to try to get Undyne to see that Frisk was not bad. 'That's fine, we should be able to convince Asgore to let you take them if you break the barrier for us. What do we do?'

After a minute, he sent her a spell. 'This will allow you to track down souls as long as you know their name. Their names are Cora, Miguel, Heath, Elise, Becca, and Tony. The quality of the arrow that appears when you speak their names will let you know a general sense of distance and direction. The brighter and shorter it is, the closer the soul is. From that point, the souls will need to be identified.'

'Wouldn't you have identified them with the spell?'

'No, that's only their name. Human souls can turn into a variety of things if they're not properly taken care of after death. Each kind of ghost and/or undead needs to be handled in a particular manner. Since we're dealing with children, that narrows it down some, but not enough. We may have to access the human internet in order to properly identify them if my research isn't sufficient.'

'Can we reach that internet? I've never heard of anyone being able to.'

'I have a signal booster in the Ruins. But if there's an opening in the mountain closer to Hotland, I’ve got a second booster that can be set up that may be more convenient for the lab. Also, did you see what happened with Papyrus on the bridge before we got to Snowdin earlier? He was possessed by a type of ghost called a remnant and I’m certain that is an entirely different phenomenon from the story you related about Prince Asriel. That's another thing we have to beware of, although I won't be as helpful with taking care of possessions. They need to be cast out with holy magic, then severed from the soul they're possessing before they can be captured in any fashion.'

Cast out with holy magic… was that what happened with his mother? What was going on with Frisk? Although, that could be easier to discuss when he got here. 'I see. Hey, since you're out of the Ruins, would you be able to come to the lab now? There's a ferry that can get you here fast.'

'I don't know. It depends on how Mom recovers. Although, we really need to reclaim those souls.'

* * *

Frisk offered to help the healers with chores around their clinic in exchange for being allowed to stay overnight while Toriel was recovering. It was easy enough with the magic that she had taught him, enough that he got done before noon. After he made himself some soup and cleaned up, he went out to look around town. Maybe he could run into Papyrus, it'd be fun to talk to him again. There was also a library just as he thought, smaller than he was used to but it looked like it had plenty of books.

Before he got in to check it out, he heard a shout from further ahead. “Hey, Frisk! How're you feeling?”

“Hi Papyrus, I'm all right,” he called back, waving to him. “How about you?”

“Great as always! I don't have anything to do for work for a few hours, so I thought I’d come see what was up. How's your mom?”

Maybe he wanted to hang out; that'd be fun, Frisk hoped so. “Her fever's gone, but she's not woken back up yet. She'll be fine, though.”

“That's good, told you she would,” Papyrus said, stopping near him. “So what are you doing?”

“Just looking around town, thought I'd look into some things at the library. What else is around town?”

He tilted his skull, thinking on it. “Well… not a lot, to be honest. There's Grillby's right there which a lot of people like to eat and hangout at, including Sans. But I don't like the place, it smells like grease all the time, you can even feel it in the air. The general store and the inn are further down the road that way, they're nice places. And the shopkeeper makes some excellent pastries and cold treats, you should really try one of the cinnamon bunnies at some point. Then, uh, the ice making place is closer to the river, along with the ferry dock. Although there's been a notice that the ferry won't be running for a few days. I hope that person is okay, they're really interesting and you should meet them at some point. But that's about it.”

“All right. Where's the ferry go to?”

Papyrus pointed off the way he'd come from. “Onward to Waterfall and Hotland, it's a handy way to get around if that's where you need to go because otherwise you're walking for a couple of days to get to Hotland, if you know the right path in the first place.”

That ferry would be handy. “I’ll have to keep that in mind. Well I was going to look some things up, but it can wait. We can take a walk around the woods if you want.”

“That sounds like a neat idea,” he agreed. “I just need to be back in time for dinner work. We can go down the ramp, it's at the end of that pathway across the main road.”

It seemed weird that there was a river and waterfall up here when there were even lower levels of this forest cavern. But that might have been part of the construction done by the monsters when they set up the weather system they had. The river and ice were an important part of that process. Down the ramp, there were a couple of foot trails heading into the woods. There were some bird songs among the trees, but it was all bird monsters who, as Papyrus said, came down for ambiance.

“So what are you doing down here in the underground?” Papyrus asked after they'd been speaking for a while on puzzles. “Did you fall down like Princess Chara did?”

He shook his head. “No, I came down here willingly. I've been down here for a few years now, but my plan has always been to go break the barrier.”

“Really? That's amazing, that's why we wanted to capture you and send you to the capitol! Did you know about that?”

“Well I've got my own plans,” Frisk said. Given the way Papyrus didn't think twice about mentioning that, he didn't seem to know that the current plans for the barrier involved killing humans. “I'm not quite ready to put them into action, they need some more preparation."

“You are pretty amazing,” he said, completely impressed. “You're great with the puzzles and magic, plus you're smart enough to figure out the barrier. I don't think most people could compare to you, not even me.” He tipped his hat. “We're just two different kinds of awesome, right?”

“Yeah, you can't go comparing things like that,” he said. “But I’ve done a lot of studying, so it's not a big deal.”

“Well it's better than I can manage. A lot of studying bores me to bits, so I learn things better by doing them.”

Was he bothered by that? It seemed that way. “There's nothing wrong with that. I think you're...” what did he say about him? He was kind and warmhearted, a nice guy all around. “You're adorable.”

“I'm what?” Papyrus asked, jumping back in surprise.

That was not what he meant to say, although he felt it was appropriate. Feeling his face get warm, Frisk looked down and tugged at his hood. “Uh, I, I don't mean anything bad for it! It's just, you kind of are. Like I was feeling down yesterday but you kept my spirits up in spite of that. I'm glad I got to meet you and...” wait, this wasn't going how he meant. He should be focusing on his work on the barrier, or keeping his corruption low so that it didn't interfere. But he had been thinking about how'd he'd enjoyed his talks with Papyrus yesterday and today.

“Are you flirting with me?” he asked, confused now.

“Kind of, I didn't mean to, but I just started talking, and um...” he didn't want this to turn bad.

“Man, you seem serious.” Thankfully, he seemed delighted. “That's incredible! And completely understandable, you must be overwhelmed by my charisma. But still, we've only known each other a day and you already fall in love with me? You know what, we ought to go on a date for that! Like tonight!”

Sans is going to kill me, Frisk thought. Still, he felt happy at the thought, more than he thought he could. More than he had most times with Jackie since his feelings weren't as restrained. “Sure, that'd be fun.”

When they got back to the ramp to town, Sans was hanging out there. “Hey Frisk, Toriel's awake now, just wanted to let you know.”

“Oh thanks, I'll have to go talk to her,” Frisk said. This was turning out to be a good day.

“So, what are you two doing down here?”

“Just taking a walk,” he said.

“Yeah, and we're going on a date later,” Papyrus said happily.

“What?” Sans asked, looking up at them incredulously.

Why did he have to say that? Really embarrassed now, Frisk fumbled around for something to explain it away with. “Ah, well, um, it just….”

“Seriously, it's going to be fun!” Papyrus said.

It started with a snort and then Sans was laughing so hard he was shaking. “Huh, what's the world coming to?”

“Hey, what's so funny about that?!” Papyrus said, playfully pushing him as he started up the ramp.

This was weird, but it had to be good. Any more time spent with Papyrus was good in his mind.

* * *

As Latte was sewing again, Cinna made sure to leave the house as soon as he'd finished up the day's chores. Maybe if he wasn't around, it would delay her making him wear them. He had to find something to tell her. But what? He wasn't a brave kid, just a regular one who wanted to not be babied so much. If he could be more like some of the other kids in town…

He'd come over to a spot by the river that was hidden by some trees, as it was a good place to be nearby but not easily found. The blue water shimmered and the green trees blocked most cold winds. Unless the ferry person was singing, it was normally quiet here. But today, something else interrupted his thoughts. First he heard someone crying over the river, only there was no one else around. Then he spotted a faint green light bobbing over the surface of the water. What was that?

Cinna went to the river's edge and tried to get a better look at the glowy spot. But the lights were on and that made it hard to see a little thing like that. “What are you out there?” he called. “Are you the one crying?” It floated closer. “Um, are you okay?”

When the green light got close enough that he could almost touch it, he could finally see that it looked like a little green heart, frayed and fading at the edges. It had a faint voice, like it was barely keeping itself together. “Momma, Poppa...”

“You miss them?” he asked.

“Wanna go home,” it sobbed. “Nightmares...”

Then shadows erupted from the heart, racing towards him. Cinna gasped and tried to run away, but stumbled on a root. He fell backward as if there was a huge pit behind him, falling and falling… how far did this hole go? And where had it come from?

You can't ever go home again, they'll chase you and hunt you and keep coming until one of unimaginable power catches up and kills you in magical flames. Then you'll be lost forever in this darkness too, with nightmares that are even worse than you imagined. It's time you gave up because fighting will only make things worse. You'll never see your family ever again.

“Mom!” Cinna cried in alarm, then sat up and found himself not falling. His energy was racing with fright. But, he was here by the river, sitting in the snow. Not hurt either, just scared. And the little green heart wasn't anywhere around either. It was just him. “That was weird.”

While whatever his sister was putting together would be embarrassing, something scary was here. He'd rather deal with embarrassing than scary. Maybe he should let Evan know. He could handle scary things with his training from Undyne.

* * *

When Toriel woke up, she was in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar person checking over a computer nearby. The white feathered owl wasn't even a monster form she'd seen before. “Where am I?”

“Oh, hello,” the owl said cheerfully. She came over and clucked her beak. “You're in the clinic of Snowdin Town. Your son cleared out the road for us to reach you. He's a real sweetheart, isn't he?”

How long had she been out for him to risk going out? “Yes, very much so.”

“We'll get word to him that you're awake if you want, he went out earlier.” The healer checked up on her. Apparently she had some injury to her soul that hadn't been healed right when Frisk had used the cure spell. But they were able heal her properly here. She was still weakened by the strange battle and they wanted her to stay here to recover. Thankfully, they agreed to not to spread the word that the former queen was here.

Frisk came in a short while after she'd woken up. He looked happy as he got a chair to sit next to the bed she was in. “Hi Mom. How're you feeling?”

“A bit tired but better than I was,” she said, smiling back and clasping his hand.

“Well, sorry about taking the key and leaving through the basement, but I had to get help for you somehow,” he said. “I was worried when you didn't wake up yesterday. But there were some really nice people who helped me out, once they knew what the problem was.”

He'd broken her rules, but that was all right. He'd done so because he cared and there was nothing else he knew to do. “It's fine, you were doing your best to help me. I'm glad, that you've grown to care so much. What about you? How are your arms now?”

When she had been possessed, he'd used the holy spell she'd used against Chara's remnant to free her. Frisk had been able to cast it, but it came at a painful cost. Red marks like someone had run a hot poker along his skin appeared on his arms. When he pulled back his sleeve now, there were still pink streaks there. “It's healing up, I don't feel anything wrong with them.”

“That's good. I just hope something can be done about that spirit. Really, it's not fair that you defeated it and yet it still takes up a place in your soul.” Maybe he had done terrible things in past times, but Frisk didn't deserve to be bearing that kind of burden when he was working on redeeming himself. That hateful spirit would only hold him back.

“It's going to be hard to evict,” he said, some of his cheer disappearing. Oddly enough, it didn't last for long as some thought made him smile again. “But never mind that, I'm glad you're okay. We're going to have to stay here for a few days.”

“I've heard, but not much we can do about that. Are you going to be okay with food?”

He nodded. “I can make a trip back tomorrow to get what's there, I have to order some more anyhow. Since we're out here, I thought about making a trip to the lab to talk with Alphys about the barrier, but that's only if the ferry gets running again. No one seems sure what's keeping it away now.”

Giving it some thought, Toriel felt she had to encourage him to go ahead. “The trek through Waterfall would be long. But, I think you should go ahead with it once you've got the supplies.”

“Are you sure about that? I don't want to leave you alone.”

“I won't be; these people seem nice. Besides, I won't be able to go back home for a while. Getting the barrier down… well it'll help far more people than having you just stick around here with me.” Because having an alternate means of breaking down the barrier might force Asgore to truly acknowledge and admit to his mistakes. Perhaps that was a selfish reason on her part. But then, many monsters would be happier knowing they were free even if care had to be taken once the barrier was down, so they could reintegrate into the world peacefully.

“If you're okay with that, then sure. I'll go back home tomorrow morning to prepare. I, uh, I do have plans tonight.” There was a soft happiness to his eyes just then. Was that… had he fallen in love with someone already?

It was cute, if sad because he wouldn't be a child much longer. But he'd grown under her care in a happy way, had bettered himself and was going to do something great. If only the others had the same chance. “You sound like you've got a crush on somebody,” Toriel teased him.

Fortunately, he was comfortable with talking to her about it. “Yeah, it really surprised me but this guy… well, some of those that helped me get you here are a pair of brothers that live here, Sans and Papyrus. I knew Sans in past time loops, although not in a good way. I've had nightmares about fighting him a lot, but he's actually been friendly this time, which is weird but I’m grateful for it.”

They'd been in different situations back then, Toriel told herself. “I think you'll find that most monsters can tell you don't mean them harm this time around. We can sense that kind of intent, albeit unconsciously for the most part.”

“That's good to know,” Frisk said. “It's good that Sans is being that way, but his brother,” he rubbed his head, happy but bashful again, “Well I don't recall him well before now, but he's just been really nice and sweet to me since we met. He kept cheering me up yesterday and his enthusiasm for, well, everything makes him fun to talk to. I was glad I could be friends with him quickly, but then I blurted out earlier that I thought he was adorable, and well, now we're going on a date this evening. Maybe this all is happening too fast, but I haven't felt like this for anybody. I mean, I’ve dated a girl before, but that was when I still had a hard time knowing my positive feelings, so this is totally different.”

From what she'd heard from Sans, Papyrus was a genuinely nice person with a warm heart. This was happening fast, but a person like that would surely help Frisk too. She patted his hand. “If it makes you this happy, give it a shot. I hope it works out for you.”

They talked for a long while, sharing dinner although the healer couple took care of making the food for them. Frisk left shortly afterward to meet up with his date. While Toriel had planned on reading to pass the time, it didn't take long for someone to knock on the door with a “Knock knock.”

“Who's there?” she replied, smiling. Of course he'd visit.

“Me.”

“Me who?”

He opened up the door then, waving as he came in. “You hoo!”

She laughed, setting her book down. “Yoo hoo yourself.”

Since it was nearby, Sans took the chair that Frisk had left. Toriel had known that he was a skeleton due to things he'd said. He was shorter than she thought, wearing an old blue coat that could stand being replaced. “It's good to see you well. You were in a bad way there.”

“It's good to see you too,” she said. “I heard from Frisk that you helped us out, thank you.”

“Nothing to it,” he said. “I got to talk to him with my brother. Not seriously, cause of Papyrus being around. But it's worked out well so far. They ended up going on a date, so I came to chat.”

She put a hand over her smile. “I heard about that. Frisk was so happy about it.”

“That's good. It was a surprise to me because Papyrus usually isn't interested in romance, also because it's Frisk.” Then he shrugged. “Hey, but who am I to stop them?”

* * *

The Royal Guard was around partly for tradition and partly for keeping order. Asgore had, for much of his kingdom's history, used the Royal Guard to keep more spirited youths out of trouble too. Nearly everyone felt constrained by the underground at one point or another, especially when population numbers were high. But some still had an old spirit of monsters, with a love for action, for adventure, for battle. Giving them training to secretly teach them restraint, setting them to patrol routes to defend others, and even offering them some ceremonial battles to show off, that kept them from turning violent. Magic balanced itself to ensure there was always two or three monsters around with the power to truly neutralize the violent ones, but he didn't want to burden them too much.

It had worked with Undyne here. When she had been a child, she had already gotten the judges' attention for causing trouble and picking fights. Raime's initial attempts hadn't done much to temper her. So when she'd showed up in the castle one day, Asgore had already heard of her. She had the capriciousness of the ocean, even the potential to be disastrously dangerous. At the time, what she didn't have was the power to truly fight him at all. It gave him a chance to reach out to her, and thankfully she'd accepted.

Now here she was, doing her best to help out out and protect him at the same time. She was serving up a meal she had made herself, chicken soup with rice. “Well I love it when you can throw your whole passion into stuff, but it usually ends up way too much for anything I try to cook,” Undyne said, sitting down with her own bowl. “You have to temper it down to make stuff right. Still have passion in it, of course! But it's just weird to think that there's stuff where one hundred percent effort isn't the right course.”

Asgore smiled a little. She was coming close on something very important to know, even if it was something that clashed with her personality. But, she could figure it out, in a way that worked for her. “You're doing well, good job.”

“I suppose in terms of progress,” she said. “I entered that baking contest, you know. Didn't get anywhere near placing! But Papyrus called me up afterwards and said that he was really happy that I tried. Plus, I get to have my name in a cookbook! How's that for a surprise?”

”That's wonderful,” he said. “I read about the contest results in the paper. Did you see the overall winner?”

She nodded. “Oh yes, that caramel apple pie! It looked so delicious even in the paper photo! Some of those desserts seemed sweet enough to rot your teeth out, but that might be interesting to try.”

“Haven't had an apple pie like that, but something about it seemed very familiar,” Asgore said, his mind having reflected back to that the moment she mentioned the contest. What would she think of Undyne? “Especially the name.”

“Papyrus told me that person didn't want to be identified further than that,” Undyne said. “Which is a real disappointment, since they'd be interesting to talk to. I'd be interested in learning some tips from them.”

Asgore closed his eyes. “It was her name before we got married, but since only the first initial was given, I can't quite say it is her...”

“Oh, you mean your ex?” she asked. “Huh, well… if it is her, then she's still alive, which is good. Hey, and she would've heard about the contest from somewhere if she entered, like online or even in the papers. So there might be a way to get in contact with her.”

“I don't know if she'd want to make contact with me again,” he said. “I’d like to, but...” dozens of thoughts tried to start up, but hope was hard to come by there. Asgore sighed. “If she hasn't tried to speak to me, I don't know if she would if I tried to speak to her. Besides, what could I say?”

Undyne was considering it, but a spiteful voice spoke right into his ear, “Tell her that you've killed off six children like she despised you just for thinking about?” He recalled the smell...

“You could always say you wanted to make sure she was well,” Undyne said, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. “But you can't just sit back and see what happens! Go find her and talk, and if that doesn't work out, maybe it's time to move on. You might be hurting yourself more staying on your own.”

Except it wasn't easy to just move on from what he'd once had: two children who could have grown up to do great things (dust spread among the flowers, and then that one she had so wanted was there when she was not), a wife who seemed like his soul mate (pure sweethearts from the day they met, she reached beyond what people thought she could be and he clasped her hand to help, then crumbled to nothing at what should have been their happiest days). He had tried making connections since then. Like to this rambunctious girl who was now a beloved well respected woman, still growing into her peak. If only others had that chance to…

“If only we had that chance to become all that we could be.” Talons seemed to grip into his arm when nothing was there. “Or do you think yourself worthy of deciding who prospers and who dies? What of the others who mourn us? What of us who suffer for an oath you're too cowardly to truly fulfill?”

“Asgore?” Undyne looked over at him in concern, setting her spoon in the bowl.

“Sorry,” he said, setting his spoon down. “You've done well, but, I just don't have the appetite tonight.”

“You sure? You should eat some of it at least, don't want you getting ill.”

“I'll be fine, he said, getting up from his chair. He should do something to get his mind off dark things. But what? This spirit seemed to be hanging on his back, although he'd not told her that it was still there. She didn't notice.

“Hey, what about…?” the spirit whispered, prodding his mind.

“What came about of the gate being knocked down yesterday, in Snowdin?” Asgore asked, looking back to her.

“Evan met the guy responsible in the company of Papyrus,” she said. “Actually, it's a pretty cute story… well not cute, but,” she waved a hand to excuse her embarrassment, “you know! See, there's apparently some monsters still living in the Ruins and one lady got really sick in there. Her son got the door open from the inside, even propped it open with large rocks. Then he meant to cross the puzzle road as quickly as he could, shutting down the puzzles along the way so that he could get a healer from Snowdin to come take care of her. Which is why he blew the gate down, didn't want anything in the way of getting help back. He even wrecked all expectations of how to solve Sans' new puzzle, that's quite a feat. That's just cu... cool, cool that he loves his mother that much.”

Between her trying to dismiss cuteness and the story itself, it did make him smile in spite of things. “That could be called cute,” he said. “I hope the mother recovers.”


	17. Campfire Light

This was a great day already, and now he was going on his first date! There wasn't a lot of time to plan, but Papyrus had an idea. Since the puzzle road was down, they could easily walk out to the Ball field where a campfire pit was. It made a fun spot for an evening with a friend or two, with the campfire going as the light system went to night. Some marshmallows to toast and hot chocolate to drink, it should be great for a date too.

“You gotta toast them until they're a good brown, but no more,” Papyrus said, putting another marshmallow on his stick. “Burnt is not a proper flavor!”

“Aw come on, it's a good texture difference with a crispy charcoaly shell and a gooey melted interior,” Frisk said, leaving his marshmallow in the fire.

“You can get that without torching the whole thing,” he said. “So is it like this on the surface?”

“Sort of,” he said. “You can find forests like this, although snow usually only comes for a third of the year. And you'd have the sun setting around this time instead of the light just gradually dying off. Then the stars would come out. The moon comes on its own time, but it might be out already.”

He was talking about stuff of legend like the sun and moon like they were ordinary things. Which they would be for a human. “That'd be great to see someday!”

Frisk nodded. “If things work out smoothly, you will.”

“Awesome! Over in Waterfall, they have caverns full of sparkling stones that they say are like the stars. Those areas look really nice.”

“I'll have to keep an eye out for that, then. What I mean is, if the ferry doesn't pick back up, I'm thinking about crossing Waterfall to reach Hotland. I'm friends with Dr. Alphys online, but I really need to talk with her in person since she knows the most about the barrier. At least, last I heard, she did.”

“She's shy, but I'm sure she'll warm up to you if you start talking sciency geeky stuff with her. Although,” Papyrus rubbed his chin and paced around the fire. If he meant to cross on foot, that led to something really worrisome. “It'd be best if you could take the ferry to skip Waterfall. See, Undyne lives there. And she's a great person, don't doubt that! We're all good friends, her, Alphys, and me and my brother. But she's a member of the Royal Guard and once she learns there's a human around, she won't stop to listen to you. She'll be sure to challenge you and she's the best warrior of the kingdom, save for the king himself.”

“And those are the two I've got to watch out for, huh?” Frisk asked, looking up at him from the log he sat on.

“Undyne more than Asgore,” he said with a nod. “I mean, don't get me wrong, nobody can beat the king. But he's a big fuzzy pushover! He might be the most powerful monster around, but he's also got to be the nicest too. He takes walks through the whole underground, and just last time he helped some of the kids figure out Alphys' tile puzzle so they could get to the Ball field here. Even played with them afterwards! I'm sure if you just go up to him and explain that you've got a good idea of how to break the barrier, he'll be more than happy to give you all the help you need.”

“That'd be good,” he said. “Especially if we can get him to talk Undyne down. Still, it's looking like I’ll have to get by her somehow. I've thought about using a disguise of some sort.”

Right, they'd have to be clever to get by Undyne. Papyrus nodded. “Excellent idea! We could hide you in a giant cake!” Frisk laughed at that. “Hey, it could work! Who would suspect a giant cake rolling through Hotland to be hiding a secret? You couldn't fit that kind of thing into dimensional delivery boxes. We could make it all decorated with awesome bone designs!”

“As fun as that would be, I think it'd be better to not draw attention,” Frisk said, still smiling. “I can tie a string bracelet together tonight, then put an illusion spell on it so that whoever wears it would look like some ordinary monster. Just need to figure out what to look like.”

“We could always use the giant cake as a distraction,” Papyrus said, not ready to give up on the idea yet.

“That might help,” he said.

“Of course it will. And as cool as skeletons are, I don't think you should use that as the illusion on you. There aren't many… actually, you know, I think it's just Sans and I since Dad's gone. So that'd be spotted right away, especially by Undyne. um...” he crossed his arms over his ribcage thinking. “Maybe one of the rabbits? Because there's a lot of them here in Snowdin, so it won't look weird if one heads into Waterfall from here.”

He brought in his blackened marshmallow from the flames, speaking while sliding it off the stick. “That's a good idea. I'd have to figure that out, like if I do straight ears or lop.”

“Actually, there's only one lop-ear around here,” he said. It wouldn't do to go in disguise when a little detail like that gave him away.

“Well that decides one thing,” Frisk said, then ate the marshmallow. Meanwhile, Papyrus tried to think of what to do now. He'd read about this kind of thing before, so it shouldn't be too hard. There was a point where you had to impress your date with some flirting, but he didn't have much practice with that. Then Frisk got up from his log seat. “Hey, are you nervous? You keep pacing around here.”

“A little,” he said, although it was definitely more than a little. “I've never really done this before. But don't worry, I will come out victorious in impressing you!”

He nearly laughed again but didn't, although that look on his face, was that when someone was so happy that their eyes were said to be sparkling? It seemed like that. “I don't think victorious is how you really describe a date, but it's that enthusiasm that I found so adorable.”

“Gosh...” that did make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside… ah, an excellent opening, but he wasn't going to stand down and take it! “Don't think you've got the better of me already, because I won't go down easy! You have a wonderful wit and I’m gonna show you how strong my heart is!”

“That could be taken wrong in so many ways,” Frisk said, coming close enough to touch his arm. Using proximity to lower his defenses? Clever, but it wouldn't be enough.

“Uh, is that bad?” Papyrus asked, trying to figure out where to take this.

“I'm sure you meant something innocent in it, so it doesn't bother me,” he said. “You're just sweet like that.”

No good, Frisk was pulling ahead here… no wait! He could turn this about still! “Well I’m grateful that you're the one being my guide. Here, I can show it!” He then brought his hands up and used the tiniest bone magic he could call on to form a little heart twirling around above them. “See?”

“Nicely done,” he said, delighted with that. Then he brought his own hands up. “I can give you some stars if you want, here.” Little misty orbs pulled away from his fingers, twinkling and sparkling in many different colors as they grew points. Once they looked like stars, Frisk blew on them and made them shatter into what looked like a thousand tiny stars that fluttered upward like reverse rainbow-colored snow.

Him lighting all the torches so fast by sliding between them had been incredible, but this was impressive in an entirely different manner. How did he have the power to use so many colors at once? Back when he'd been training with Undyne, Papyrus had tried really hard to get green to work for him too. But no, he could only manage white and blue. Supposedly, the king could manage white, blue, orange, and red in one battle because he was so powerful. To manage even tiny points of every color, all shifting and sparkling, that was beyond imagination!

In fact, it was kind of intimidating. Papyrus tried to catch a few of the little stars, but they fluttered away like snowflakes. “That's beautiful, Frisk. Aw man, I really can't keep up with you, not with your power.”

“Eh, power's not...” _flicker_

Something happened and yet not. _“...all that great, it can go to your head if you don't watch yourself. I mean, I… I had killed you before… no, no, sorry, wait, I got this all wrong...”_

Frisk tensed and looked away, his cheeks pink. Was that wrong too? Something didn't feel right and there was some niggling sense of familiarity in Papyrus' mind that couldn't explain itself. “Is something the matter?” he asked, clasping Frisk's arm this time since he'd done that to him.

“I...” _flicker “...had a bit of a panic when I accidentally said, um… it's fine, I don't want to hurt you! Ah,”_ He cringed. “No, I… gah, I couldn't live a normal life if I tried.”

“Well calm down and don't panic,” Papyrus said. He'd done something like this before, hadn't he? Those flickers, what were they? “It'll just make you goof up more.”

“Right, I just want things to go right. But I shouldn't have to, um, do silly things.” Frisk looked up at him. “Uh, what was I saying?”

That was a familiar question that made the familiarity make sense. Back when they'd been researching time, both his father and brother occasionally had moments where they needed to be reminded of the topic at hand. That gave Papyrus a sense for when the reminder should be. “I said I was impressed by your power and you were going to say something about that.”

He nodded and tried to continue that line of thought. “Well it's, no, power's not all that great if you don't use it well. In other times, I,” he stopped, then shook his head. “Um, never mind, it was just a pretty thing. I don't want power anymore, I just want, well I don't know, but right now I want to be with you.” Then he hugged Papyrus without warning. “I'm sorry, Papyrus.”

“Sorry about what?” he asked, putting an arm around him. How were they doing with the date thing? He couldn't really be sure, since whenever he read a story or watched a movie with a romance portion, he always skipped the mushy parts for being boring. But did it really matter? Frisk was still troubled and he needed the support.

“Don't ask,” Frisk said, putting his head on his shoulderblade.

Well, some things people just didn't want to talk about. Asking usually ended up with a headache of complication. Still… hmm, what now? Papyrus thought and thought over something that might cheer him up, but was having nothing but blank thoughts. The problem was that Frisk reacted oddly to innocuous statements. Sometimes, Sans was the same way, Undyne too. In fact, a lot of people didn't always react as Papyrus thought they should, if he was in their position. But Frisk especially so. Maybe they just needed to know more about each other.

Although, how long was a hug supposed to last? He knew that couples liked to hold each other. Their passion was so strong that they had to be that close! But now that he was here in someone’s arms, it didn't seem quite as powerful as it should. What was he supposed to do to comfort him? He was worried about him and wanted him to be back to smiling and laughing again. But, it wasn't all that different from how he'd felt yesterday when they met. Unless they had been in love at first sight… no, it wasn't nearly that powerful. This wasn't as powerful as love ought to feel.

But Frisk definitely felt something more for him. He knew what he was saying, and was content just to hug him quietly here. In fact, he was much calmer now, over whatever flustered thought had got to him earlier. It made Papyrus feel really bad that he wasn't sure what to do, or how he felt. And getting bored with just standing here, that made him feel guilty too. No, he could match his feelings! It had to be easy, he just had to care a lot, like way a lot… if you really cared, you could even get in sync with the other person's soul rhythm… wait, did that work with humans?

No, he wasn't feeling anything more. It would've much better if they'd just stuck with being friends, because that was easier to understand. If he said it now, Frisk was going to feel hurt. But if he waited and Frisk's feelings got stronger, wouldn't that hurt him more? This had been a mistake, a total failure on his part. Papyrus did not like thinking that, but he did fail a lot more than he cared to admit. Like how the contest didn't stop the unrest in the capitol, or even get him much more attention since Mettaton was involved… no, don't think that way! Be positive, even when things were really bad. Then they'd turn out right in the end!

He still had to admit to this. “Frisk, I, um,” Papyrus said. Frisk was still being quiet, so he took a deep breath. “This isn't going to work out.”

“What?” he said in shock, stepping back but keeping a hand on him.

“There's nothing wrong with you!” he insisted. “Sorry, I thought because you flirted with me, we should do this. But, um, I thought all would be revealed to my heart during this, you know? Like romance would blossom and I’d finally get all that stuff. I tried really hard, because I do like you and I still think you'd be an awesome friend. But, I've been trying, but it still doesn't change my feelings for you. I could care about you as a friend, I’d love that. But, I can't really say that I could love you the same way you love me.”

“Oh! Um,” Frisk bit his lip. He looked upset, but he was trying not to be.

That hurt a lot to see and know he was the cause. But, faking things would be worse. “I do still want to help you out, and be your friend,” Papyrus explained. “Especially with getting you past whatever difficulties are making it hard for you to be happy for long. But, I couldn't keep you weighed down with powerful passions that I can't match. That'd be cruel, it'd be better just to pretend this all never happened and go on as the friends we got to be, okay?”

He had to think about that, hanging onto him. But then, he let go and sighed. “I, guess you're right. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just, uh…”

“It'll be fine, you can be strong enough to get past this obstacle,” Papyrus said to cheer him on. “And I’ll help you in any way I can, platonically, of course.”

“Yeah, I’m grateful for that.” He smiled again although it still made him look sad. “Um, you should probably go back to town. I'll take care of the fire, I just, need some time to think.”

Sometimes, the way to help someone was to give them space. “All right. Oh, but first, we should exchange phone numbers for when you have to take off. Oh, and are you on UnderNet? We could be friends there too!”

“Yeah, I'm on there.” Once they had exchanged contact information, Papyrus said good night and headed back home. It hadn't ended as he'd hoped, but it still ended well.

I had hopes… LOVE 9 > ~~LOVE 8~~ > LOVE 9 Maybe I shouldn't try to be normal, maybe I should just accept…

* * *

“Then what is in these journals?”

Sans had not wanted to talk to anyone directly about them. He did end up talking to Papyrus some, but made sure to include some of the time manipulations to dissuade him from asking too many specifics. Still, he and Toriel had been talking for some time now… two hours? That seemed incredible, it wasn't even mostly jokes. Not even half that. Thus, the journals had come up and now…

“Records of time being turned back over and over again, by multiple sources that have an artifact known as a chronograph attached to their soul,” Sans said. “I haven't seen Frisk's personally, or at least I’ve not made any notes about that. He's just the latest one to be more or less in control of this cycle. Although, he can't be entirely in control. None of us were.”

“What kind of time has been passing then?” Toriel asked, curious.

He considered it, then shrugged. “Hard to say. The cycle has been going over ten years about the last fifty loops, but I have some records of it going on for at least twenty years, maybe thirty. Since I’m up to loop 801 recorded, while not being sure of the amount of time the loops all cover, it could be thousands of years within it all. Little wonder my memory's bad if I've gone through all that time.”

“I couldn't imagine living through all that time,” she said. “How did it all get started?”

“I don't know. I probably should dig out the oldest one, figure out what my father was up to. Then figure out what I was doing whenever I find the point where they transfer from his writing to mine.”

Toriel nodded. “You should; figure out the start and things will become clearer. Hopefully you can find some way to get this all stopped. Living the same ten years over and over again doesn't seem like a good way to live.”

“I wrote somewhere that it felt like I was being punished for something,” Sans admitted. “Seeing everything unravel backwards and never being able to progress. Who knows? Maybe I'm more like that kid than I know.”

“It doesn't seem fair to be punished for something you don't remember. Oh, but,” she put her hands together, “I just had a thought. You say you don't remember well, but if something significant happened, your soul should still recognize something of it. Are there any numbers that seem significant to you but you can't explain why? Finding your notes on loops of those numbers might reveal more than just going straight through. Maybe, it's just a hunch.”

“That might be,” Sans said. After all, he had felt so strongly about 159 and 160 just holding that book. Translating the first few was important, but he could also bring up a list of numbers up to 801 and tick off any that made him feel something to check those loop notes.

“And you can talk to me about them if you want, I'll listen, and try to understand the best I can.” Toriel smiled warmly at him.

“I dunno, most of 'em are probably boring, same things over and over again,” he said. Although it was more that if he had done something terrible, he didn't want anyone finding out about it. Not even Papyrus.

“Maybe, but it helps to have someone listening,” she said, reaching a hand over to him. “You helped me a lot even when we were just exchanging jokes, since there wasn't anybody I could talk to in the Ruins.”

“I wouldn't want to burden you with that nonsense,” Sans said, taking her hand without thinking much of it.

She squeezed his hand lightly, probably because she wasn't sure how it'd affect his fingerbones. “I’d hate to see you take on that burden all by yourself. Besides, you never know when talking about it will open up new lights on it.”

Like it had with what Papyrus had pointed out. Even so, he still didn't want to. The grip of her hand was nice, a warm gentle fire to her aura. But maybe he was being too daring. Sans looked over at her, meeting her eyes.... and something clicked. He didn't want to tell her because even if Frisk was doing immensely better, there was still a very large chance that he'd end up going back in time, setting Sans way back on the journal translations, taking his memories and turning them to dreams, bringing him back to when he not only didn't know her face, he didn't even know her name. He didn't want this because it could be undone so easily, by someone else. And if it wasn't Frisk, then maybe Frisk would lose control just like Flowey had, just like Sans probably had, just like his father had. Whoever it was, it made this meaningless. But the emptiness that went along with that meaninglessness was painful, pulling him closer to her now because maybe it would make now a little better.

It might not've been so bad, if he hadn't suddenly seen her with her own eyes too. She'd had her life turned upside-down by tragedy once, a tragedy so abrupt and powerful that it completely crushed her heart. No matter what changed, the pain and emptiness in her heart would never leave her. There was nothing that could make up for losing her children. She'd tried, sure enough, taking in other children but then all but one had died, most likely to the one that she had once truly loved.

And the one child she had now, and him as her friend, the two of them were dealing with something difficult for her to comprehend. She was also torn, wanting to help them and yet worried about caring too much. After all, she could lose them just like she'd lost the others. It was an old feeling, loneliness pining for company and apprehension about loss. About undermining what she'd said to Asgore if she went back out, pacing the hall behind the door trying to decide. She didn't want to lose someone she loved again. But emptiness and loneliness were painful, so maybe being here now would make now a little better.

He didn't know what to say, afraid of what was happening and yet glad that it was. Then she said something. “Sans, I understand what you're afraid of. If you're not sure, then just know that I do care about you very much. And I did even before I knew your name. I will be there if you need me, though, if you want to defy this strange fate you're caught up in.”

Gripping her hand back, he said, “I’ll think about it.” Then the soul sync passed, which he felt unfortunate. “Probably should be going anyhow, you still need your rest.”

“All right, if I must,” she said. “See you later.”

“Right, later.”

On his way back home, he thought over things. The town seemed different tonight, the quiet on the street outside seeming more peaceful, the colored lights more brilliant, the muffled sounds from buildings more cheerful. Or, maybe the difference was in himself. Could he admit to being in love even knowing he could end up helpless in losing it? It would make this time a little better. Maybe a lot better, there was a lightness somewhere in his soul that was trying to lift his spirits. Talking to her did make him happy and thinking of her now made the cold unnoticeable.

“Open a can of worms and you're not going to get them back in,” Sans said to himself, but then ended up laughing softly at it. Maybe he'd only speak of it freely to her, maybe Papyrus if he could get him to keep quiet about it. But damn, this was going to hurt if this loop ended, he was sure of that.

Then the thing to do was do everything he could to keep it from ending. Somehow. There had to be a way, had to be. And the best information would be in his and his father's journals... skeletons didn't really need all that much sleep, right? He usually slept all night, but Papyrus was good on just an hour's sleep a night. His brother would definitely be suspicious if he changed his habits like that, but it could happen.

He got back into their home and found Papyrus sitting in the living room couch, reading a book. “Oh hey, you actually walked in!” he said, amused at it.

Acting like it was no big deal, Sans shrugged. “Yeah, seemed like a nice night for a walk.”

That got him to stare. “Oh my god, you were taking a walk? Is something the matter with you?”

He laughed at that. “Just messing with you. I'm surprised to see you back from your date so soon.”

“It was nice, but we decided it was better to not date again and just be friends, so that's why,” Papyrus said. He didn't seem all that bothered, almost relived at it. “Which is great because I was doing awful at flirting but I managed to keep him from feeling too heartbroken over how things turned out. Frisk really is smart, he could understand and not let it hurt him too much.”

That did not seem right. But the way things lined up... Papyrus had never been interested in dating before, had even missed someone having an obvious crush on him before, while Toriel had said that Frisk had been really happy about the date... maybe Frisk said that he understood, maybe it had been a simple crush that wasn't the same as what he had felt tonight, but Sans was sure that Frisk was upset over this. While the kid was trying real hard to be good, this could make him decide not to.

And right when he got a new reason to really solve this problem. “Oh yeah? Where'd he go afterwards?”

“Well he stayed at the campfire back at the Ball field,” Papyrus said. “Maybe an hour ago. I hope he got back into town by now, wandering around the road in the dark is a bad idea.”

“Actually, I think I'll go look for him,” Sans said. “Make sure he got back to town safe at least. I've been meaning to ask him about something anyhow.”

Papyrus waved to him, picking up his book again. “Be careful, and if he is still out there, bring him back to town promptly. It's not safe with all the cliffs, or if one of the electrical puzzles reactivates.”

“Sure thing.”

Once he was outside, Sans got himself past the bridge to make sure he wasn't being seen. A lot of his magic counted as mysterious arts that shouldn't become widespread, for being difficult to master, easy to abuse, or even just to keep them mysterious. The teleporting counted for the first so while he'd rather not be seen doing it, it wasn't a big deal if someone accidentally caught him. On the other hand, the surveillance spell could be abused and Raime would give him hell if someone managed to copy it by watching him. A map of the Snowdin area materialized in the air in front of him, filled with dots marking where people were.

It was easy to pick Frisk out on that, since he was marked with a full red dot rather than a ring of color circling a white center. He was still at the campfire pit and it looked like someone was near him. By placing a fingerbone near there and pulling it towards his palm, the map was zoomed in to that area. The fire was going and there were two individuals there: Frisk, and an oddity of a marking that was white ringed with black. That was not a soul marking he knew how to interpret. Picking out a spot behind a tree, Sans moved there.

He felt a shiver when he arrived, but it wasn't the physical temperature. Frisk's soul was still LOVE 9 which was unusual as it was. But his companion, he seemed to be LOVE 99. Tapping his skull, Sans wondered if it was some trick or if the rating was real. Whichever it was, it wouldn't be a good idea to let Frisk listen to that person. There was a kind of familiarity in it.

When Sans peeked over at them, it looked like only Frisk was there, sitting on a log and talking. “If not that, then how are you destroying the mountain?”

“Isn't it obvious?” a small childish voice said. There was a spot of yellow near the human's hand. Wait, was that the flower? “I’m not going to let you get away scotfree by just staying out of the underground. It takes some time, but all I have to do is burrow within the rock in the right places. And then, boom! It's all gone and the spirit of vengeance is free to take the souls of everyone here and kill all the humans out there. Works every time.”

“Oh, all you'd have to do is get the abyssal lake and the lava lake to touch,” Frisk said.

“Or take out the supports that keep part of the capitol city from falling onto the Core. Or a few other places, but I don't have to tell you everything.” It snickered. No wonder that creature had such a high level.

Frisk's soul showed signs of anger, shadows flickering around his heart, but he was trying to keep it under control. “That'd kill you in the process, probably before everyone else.”

His companion, who indeed was a little yellow flower currently perched on Frisk's hand, was trying to incite him. “I don't care, I know I’ll just wake back up ten years ago like nothing's wrong, except that the fact I can do so is horribly wrong by itself. And it's all your fault! Can't you just leave things how they end up for once so we can stop all this madness?”

“I want it to end too, but I don't want it to end with the destruction of the world, which you are setting off by destroying the mountain and all the monsters living under here. If you really want this to end, then work with me rather than get it all destroyed again.”

“You just want to escape the consequences of your actions!” Sans found that a pitiful argument given that this flower seemed to be blaming Frisk for its total destruction of Mt. Ebott. “Is that why you went and sold your soul, huh? In order to restore the world for you to mess up all over again, you're a heartless bastard.”

“Well what's it matter to you when you claim to be soulless?” Frisk countered, sore over the question. “That's who I was, not who I am.”

Sans put a hand over his face and muttered, “This is worse than I thought.” Had Frisk sold his soul at some point? Was that the reason why there was a lock on it? It made a terrible sense. If that was true, then Frisk's efforts to lower his LOVE were completely meaningless. Well maybe not completely. If the being who owned his soul now could be negotiated with, there was a chance the deal could be undone. But there'd have to be some cost and if he'd done it to undo the destruction of the entire world, well, what kind of cost would satisfy a reversal? It was more likely that it couldn't be negotiated back, unless humans knew something that monsters didn't.

Whatever was going on, he needed to work with Frisk instead of against him. He didn't know what to do about the flower, but one step at a time. Caught up in the argument, the flower hissed, “Yeah right. Just because nearly everyone else doesn't remember such things doesn't mean it didn't happen. There is no salvation for you, but you could at least spare the rest of us this torment of never moving time forward.”

“I don't want that either,” Frisk said.

Sans decided to show up in the campfire's light then. “I don't think any of us who knows about it wants it to continue,” he said.

The flower got defensive, shrinking away in fear. It unraveled its roots from around Frisk's fingers. “Wh-where did you come from?” More calmly, Frisk looked him over but didn't outwardly react.

Ignoring the question, Sans continued with, “And it sounds like you're the reason Frisk has to keep rewinding lately, so if you want it to stop, well, you've got to stop too.”

“And if we don't want it to continue, we should work together on fixing the real problem,” Frisk said. “No matter who we were in past loops. We want to set things right, right?”

“No, I want to see you suffer for what you did,” the flower said, looking up at Frisk's face.

“How do you know he hasn't?” Sans asked.

“Why do you think he has?” he retorted. “He's killed both of us many times before, why are you on his side?”

To tease them, he replied, “Why do you think I am?” The flower tilted to the side while Frisk looked uneasy at that. “Heh, no really, the goal we can reach working together is greater than any grudge I could hold. Don't like holding grudges anyhow, gets tiring after so long. Hey, you mind telling him what you were doing in the past fifty or so loops?” He was curious himself, as it had been a long time.

Frisk closed his eyes. After a moment, he answered, “Due to the world getting destroyed repeatedly, I spent about a hundred and twenty years imprisoned as I was mistaken for a demon. Then I spent about thirty years in a prison for insane criminals, then several more decades of solitary study to get out of that situation. It's only been the last six loops that I was allowed to live in normal society.”

“Well you're not getting any pity from me,” the flower said. “You should've stayed in the demon prison or something.”

“I will never be going back there,” Frisk said sharply. “But if we work together, we might find a way out of this.”

The flower shook himself. “Well don't count on me. I wouldn't want to work with either of you. But I will be keeping an eye on you, making sure you don't do anything stupid! So watch yourself.” He then hopped off Frisk's hand. Once he hit the ground, he burrowed out of their reach in a second.

“I suppose I’ll just have to convince you indirectly then,” Frisk said, then looked over at him. “Um, what are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on you,” Sans said. “The road's more dangerous at night. We should probably get back to town soon.”

“I should be fine, illumination spells are easy,” he said.

But it wouldn't do to leave it at that. “Say, I could get you back to town quick if you want. I could either get you back to the clinic if you just want to sleep, or if you don't mind talking some more, you could come hang out with me. What do you say?”

He had to think over that for a moment, but Frisk nodded. “We probably should talk. But...”

“Don't worry yourself, I won't bite,” Sans said, offering a hand. “Just close your eyes.”

“Okay.” He took his hand and closed his eyes.

Which probably wasn't necessary. If he could read the electrical maze without special effort, he might be able to read the teleportation spell when it was used on him. “Won't take but a step...” there was no door out here, but there were still ways to link up to the doorway he wanted, “...here we are.”


	18. Lost Children

From the talk around Snowdin, Frisk was able to guess that Sans had taken him into Grillby's. It had a smokey kind of atmosphere, with warm-hued neon lights, wooden furnishings, and some dimness to the corners. There was a jukebox off in the corner playing a song he didn't recognize and various tables to sit at. Against the far wall, there was even a bar where a fire elemental in a black suit was the bartender. All kinds of colored bottles were lined up against the wall. And the grease smell was there, but he didn't think it was that bad.

The customers there seemed like a rough bunch. A few muscular wolves were talking at the bar, while various birds, rabbits, and ice elementals were at the tables. Some played cards while others seemed to be drinking. “Kind of a tough crowd at night,” Sans whispered. “But they're good folks deep down. The ice workers work all day and unwind here until closing time.”

“Hey Sans, how's it going?” one of the rabbits said on noticing him, giving a wave. A few others called over greetings as well, or looked at him curiously.

“Too busy for my liking, but it might keep up the pace,” he said.

One of the wolves turned from the bar while others peeked around. “So what was with all the hubbub yesterday with Puzzle Road getting shut down? I heard your new puzzle got completely thrashed.”

“More like flamed,” Sans said, as if it didn't bother him. “But it's okay, this guy here was just out to get help for his mother. The road should be back in business tomorrow.”

“I heard something like that,” the rabbit who first greeted them said. He gave a nod to him. “Got to respect somebody who goes all out for their mother, hope she's doing well.”

“She'll be fine,” Frisk said.

“Hey, but what if a human slips down the road into town with all the puzzles down?” a blue duck with a snowflake-shaped mane of ice around its neck. That was a Snowdrake, wasn't it? “We could be in trouble.”

“Don't worry, there's still sentries on the road,” Sans said. “We'll be fine.”

They hadn't recognized him as a human? The ones Frisk could see accepted Sans' word and went back to their games, chats, or drinks. Currently, he had the hood of his cloak down. But with the rest of it wrapped around his body, maybe they assumed he was another monster hiding a more inhuman form. Maybe they'd even forgotten what humans looked like? That couldn't be, though, not with human shows, pictures, books, and more showing up down here. They should notice his face was human, that he had no horns or other such features on his head.

The barkeeper might've noticed something, at least from the way he was looking intently at him as they approached the bar. “Don't mind him, he's with me,” Sans said.

Accepting that with a nod, the elemental looked down at the skeleton. They ended up ordering some fries and sodas, then going over to one of the booths to the side. Frisk had wondered why they'd come to a place like this to talk. After all, he wouldn't want to end up being overheard answering some of the questions Sans had to have for him. The tall benches helped some. And once they got in, Sans uncovered a switch hiding behind the napkin holder that brought up a noise filter. It made Frisk wonder what this kind of thing was set up for. After all, the usual monster society he observed over UnderNet didn't seem the sort for clandestine discussions.

“So what's with the flower?” he asked.

“That's Flowey,” Frisk said, taking off his cloak to set aside. Sans might be on his side, but more than that, the place encouraged him to go without that defense. It didn't seem like somewhere to pick a fight. “I'm supposed to be helping him too.”

“What for?” He didn't seem agreeable to that idea.

“Well, it started with that note you keep sending me,” he started to explain.

Then Sans asked, “What note?”

Wasn't it him? “It's a note folded up into a paper plane that I always get about an hour or two before the mountain gets destroyed,” he said, bringing out his tablet to look for one of his copies of it. “Has the same message every time and I thought it was you sending it. There it is.” He passed over the tablet.

“You got a computer to last through the rewinds?” he asked, looking at the photo Frisk had taken in loop 98.

“Well I do have to replace it occasionally, but the data is linked to my chronograph.”

“Hmm… looks like my handwriting.” He passed the tablet back across the table. “I do get warned by mine, and I noted a time or two that I sent a note out. Must be something I recorded to do at some point.”

“Well since it says I need to bring the children home to be redeemed, I’ve been working to break down the barrier so I can bring the seven missing children back to the surface. But when I got down here to track them down, I used a soul tracking spell that got me eight responses. That eighth one points out Flowey.” He shrugged. “Not sure how to handle him at this point, but since I cast the spell with this in mind, he's important somehow.”

Sans thought over it, tapping the table. “Huh. Well, he was the one with power over time before you. Might be a hint that we need to get this sorted out and stopped.”

“If I can manage to get everything accomplished without anyone trying to end the world, I'd be fine with letting time go on,” Frisk said.

“Glad we can agree on that,” he said. The bartender then came by without a word and gave them their fries and drinks. “Ah, there's the grub. Well, first things first.” He took the ketchup bottle nearby and pour a little pile near his fries. “I don't mean to trouble you if you don't mean to trouble us. Besides, you're the one with the new lab account, right? ElderF?”

“Yeah, how'd you guess?”

“This and that, little things like where you're from,” he said, then offered the bottle. “Want some?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Frisk said, taking it. “So wait, are you…?” Without warning, the lid to the bottle slipped off and ketchup poured all over his fries and part of his hand. “Ack!”

“Whoops, didn't seem loose,” Sans said, but there was a sparkle of mischief to is eyes just then. “Don't worry about it, I'll just trade with you.”

“Yeah, glad I didn't have my cloak on for that,” he said, taking a napkin to wipe off the bottle and table while Sans swapped the plates. “Pretty sure it's set to not gain stains, but I'd rather not test it like that.”

Sans shifted his fries around so they were all coated in ketchup. “And what were you going to ask?”

He had to take another napkin and a small spell to make sure his fingers didn't get sticky. “About the lab accounts, are you GasterS or OssienG?”

“First one, never heard of the latter,” he said.

Then, he was Alphys' old friend. “I’ve only talked to that person one day and they mentioned that they were researching time. But the network claims the account doesn't exist even though I still have that email saved.”

“That's pretty weird. So, do you mean to go to the lab now or later?”

“I'm thinking about starting off tomorrow,” he said. “Go pick up some supplies back home in the morning, then go into Waterfall if the ferry's still out.”

“Ah, the sooner the better then. Can't help you much there, since I've got some things I'll need to be doing tomorrow. But send me a message if you get in a bind, I'll see what I can do.”

“Thanks. So far, I've got Papyrus and Alphys willing to help me get over there too, mostly trying to get me by Undyne without her notice.”

He nodded. “That's an important matter. Though, Alphys and Undyne are pretty close. Papyrus and Undyne too, and she's technically my boss. We'll have to see about convincing her to make an exception for you.”

“Actually, I've been thinking about talking to Asgore before Undyne,” he said. “In what interactions I remember with them, it seems he's more likely to let me explain my plans first. And then Undyne would have to listen to him, right?”

“That could work out,” Sans said. “And it shouldn't be any trouble to get him to come to the lab for that discussion. I don't think he'd try to start a fight with Alphys around. Then as long as we can get you through Waterfall unnoticed, we're good.”

“I hope there's a good map of the place online,” he said.

“Should be. Between all of us, Undyne should give in. By the way, I hear your outing with Papyrus tonight didn't go quite as planned.”

“Right,” Frisk said, not wanting to be reminded of that. Flowey had distracted him for a little while. Now that he was thinking about it again, it was discouraging. He thought things had turned out way better than he expected, but then got let down. Though, “I can't really blame him for it. He was just trying to cheer me up, I think, but not everybody is the same.” At one point, romance hadn't been on his mind either. Things changed for him, but Papyrus might just naturally be the way he was.

“Well what do you think of my brother?” Sans asked.

“He's a great guy, but I don't think the trenchcoat and hat look is for him,” Frisk said.

Thankfully, he found that funny. “He was trying to up his cool factor a while back and came up with that ensemble. I told him that he's cool as he is, but he insisted. Maybe in the next week or so, he'll change his mind again. But when he decides on something, he goes all out on it. Like when he took on the cooking job, he insisted on busting through a wall in our house and hooking it up to the shed, all in order to build a really nice kitchen. Except, he didn't have all the tools needed and we had a hole in the wall for a month until the remodel got done. It worked out, but most days, he only needs the space we had in our old kitchen.”

It would've been nice... no, it was going to be nice to have him as a friend. There was a part of his mind that wanted to just forget about the whole thing if it was going to bring him down like this. Just don't care. But no, he couldn't do that. He needed to care so that his corruption kept dropping, so that the remnant had less power to draw from him. Trying to keep with the conversion, Frisk said, “Mom doesn't need a big kitchen, but if it's his job... anyhow, that trenchcoat looks too much like the hard-edged loner sort, which is totally not Papyrus. And the hat is kind of old-school gangster, also not him.”

“Maybe if we told him it makes him look like a bad guy, he'll switch up his fashion sooner,” Sans said. “You all right with how things turned out?”

What point was there to lying about it, even to himself? He'd deal with it and get over it. He'd overcome a lot to get where he was. “Not really, but I have to accept it. At least it ended about as fast as it came up. I mean, it wasn't something I was thinking about seriously, but once it got brought up, I was hoping that it would become something significant. It's nice that he still wants to be friends, and I’ll try, but he's only the second person I’ve ever dated and it feels a lot different than before.”

“What happened before?” Sans said, leaning forward and listening.

It's a lot easier to talk to him than I thought, Frisk thought briefly. “The previous loop, there was a girl, another human, who asked me out and we sort of dated for a little over half a year. But that was the last few months of that loop, with my emotions more restrained than now. It still hurt to have to turn back time so she forgot about us, although I think she was hurt more when I told her about it.”

“That's a risky dare, to take on a relationship when you know time will probably go back,” he said.

He nodded. “Yeah, but I was finding it easier to bring myself out of a corrupt state by being with others, so that was another try at it. It's worked, but I was single-minded and unshakably focused for a long time there. Being closer to normal, I can't be that focused and things that happen around me hurt so much more. I can't really be normal either, which is tempting me to not care again. I can't be that way anymore, though. When he said we should go on a date, I really wanted it to work, but it can't, and now things are just a mess...” Frisk sighed.

Sans snapped his fingerbones, which did help a little with bringing him back to the moment. “But getting to an uncorrupted state means that you can be happy about things, right? Even if things don't go quite how you want.”

“Well yes, I can actually be happy now,” he admitted. “I can't get completely uncorrupted, but I think I can do better still. I should, to balance out all the rotten things I've done. Even if most people can't know what I’ve done, and even though there's some things that I don't even remember entirely well, I was still a terrible person and that remains.”

“I know how that feels,” he said. “I really don't remember things way back, but I’ve been reminded recently that I used to hate my father. Don't remember why yet, but I can remember a bit of how I felt and know that I was wrong for feeling that way. There's nobody else around to remember, but the evidence is there.”

“I barely remember my family, but a good portion of that is my fault,” Frisk said, reassured even with what the subject at hand. “I used my powers to get out of being told what to do.” Feeling that he ought to say something particular, he bowed his head. “Sans, look, I'm sorry about how I was. I didn't even recall Papyrus at first in this loop. Once I did, I felt terrible about it. That just got worse as I found out what he's like. I don't know if I could make up for times like those, but I wanted to try to make this time better, I guess.”

Strangely, Sans didn't seem bothered. Or maybe it wasn't strange, since here, he didn't seem much like he had been in loops where they'd been enemies. “Don't worry about it too much, kid. At first, I was worried about you being down here. But you haven't hurt anybody on purpose this time around, and you've been nice to Papyrus even if he did accidentally break your heart. I can't be bothered by all that now, especially when you want to stop the time loops from running.”

“I don't think I could bring myself to be anything but nice to him,” he said.

Sometime after that, they ended up talking about puzzles and Sans asked him to look over the actual torch puzzle so they could discuss how to keep it from being shortcut again. It was still sad that he didn't end up in love today. On the other hand, he somehow made a formerly terrifying enemy into a good friend who could understand him in ways no one else could. It made him feel even stronger that the monsters deserved to be freed.

I've stumbled a lot recently, but I can keep going towards being a better person. LOVE 9 > LOVE 8

* * *

The O'Hare family usually got together for breakfast around the start of the day, before Cinna's father Jack had to leave for work on the ice crew. Latte and Choco often spoke of their latest sewing projects while Jack brought up recent gossip around town. “I got to see the guy who knocked down the gate on Puzzle Road in Grillby's last night,” Jack said that morning.

“That had to be a really strong monster, who was it?” Latte asked, twitching her ears.

Jack shrugged. “Didn't get his name, and Sans brought him over to the booth with the privacy screen so we couldn't hear them talking. But I’m pretty sure they were discussing puzzles since Sans had some of his plans out on the table when I got a good look over there. Though I’m not even sure what the guy was.”

“The Ruins have been closed for so long,” Choco said. “Who knows what could have developed in there?”

“Well he didn't look too strong,” Jack said, then took a gulp of his coffee. “Not that interesting either, very plain build with pale skin and dark hair just on the top of his head and on the eyebrows. Though he had some magical scars on his arms, very odd.”

“A human?” Cinna asked before he even realized it.

“Maybe,” Jack said. “Can't be sure, never seen one of them before. Though, if it was a human, you'd think that those skeletons wouldn't have brought him right into town.”

“I've seen pictures and videos of them,” Latte said. “And they are like that, without any horns or wings, and they don't have a lot of hair except on top. Sometimes that hair is really spiky and it can be all kinds of colors, and sometimes it isn't even there at all. Maybe that guy is a human and he tricked them into thinking he wasn't.”

“Oh dear, that wouldn't be good at all,” Choco said, wrinkling her nose in worry.

“Papyrus maybe, but Sans wouldn't be fooled,” Jack said, frowning at the thought.

“He might just be too lazy to do anything about a human, though,” Choco said. “I hope that person isn't a human, we could be in real trouble. Maybe we should inform Undyne?”

“Nah, not unless it's absolutely certain to be one,” Jack said, nodding at whatever thought made the decision to do that. “She would not be happy if she got called over just on a suspicion.”

After breakfast when Jack had gone out to the day's work, Cinna helped his mother to clean the dishes. Odd thoughts kept bumbling through his mind, sad feelings that didn't make any sense. He felt homesick even though he was at home. While there was some yearning to leave (to somehow get home by leaving home?), there was also fear of leaving a safe haven finally found. Scary beings were out there. But family was out there. No, family was right here beside him…

“Is something the matter, Cinna?” his mother asked, patting him with her dark brown paw.

Don't wanna be found out by scary monsters…

“No, I'm okay,” he said, shaking his head.

“You don't sound quite right,” she said. Choco took his chin and made him look up at her, which only made her more worried. “And when did your eyes turn green?”

“I dunno,” Cinna said. “But I'm okay.”

Then Latte came back in the kitchen. “Hey Cinna, I've got some clothes I want to try on you,” she said happily. “Even made a matching outfit for me so we could have some fashionable walks...”

More clothes, probably embarrassing to him. He didn't own a lot of clothes now that weren't those his sister made. And then his mom would pester him about wearing the same ones over and over, those Latte hadn't made. While he usually got quiet and embarrassed at that kind of statement, Cinna felt really angry now. You should be able to choose your own clothes.

“No!” Cinna cried out, with shrill tones that managed to hurt his own ears. His mom and sister both flinched while big tears fell down Cinna's face. “No no no!”

“Cinna, what's wrong with you today?” his mother said, putting a paw on his head and trying to calm him down. “You're really not like yourself.”

“Right, we always have fun with my clothes and going on walks together,” Latte said, coming over and trying to hug him. “Ever since you were a little bun-bun and I had to keep you on a leash.”

He didn't really realize it until that moment, but he hated it every time she brought that up. “No!” He fled out of the kitchen and slammed his bedroom door shut.

“Cinnamon!” Latte called out, starting to go after him.

Choco stopped her. “Hold on, let him calm down first. I'm sure he'll talk about it.”

But when she went to check on him fifteen minutes later, the window was open and Cinna was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Snowdin Forest was ruled by teens, or so they liked to think. There really wasn't a good hang-out spot in town, since the adults claimed Grillby's and only nerds would hang out in the library. Out in the forest, there were plenty of places to hide out and be cool. On rare occasion, there were some who got daring enough to play hooky from school. But it was hard to assert one's coolness if one wasn't seen, so most of them went to school no matter how much they claimed it was boring and unneeded.

But that morning, there were a lot of absences from school when a rumor flew about that a legend of teen delinquency had returned to the forest. There had always been hushed exciting rumors about the guy, that he'd gone a week without showing up at school or home. A whole week! Of course, Chilldrake wasn't a teen any longer. But someone that cool could be considered a teen forever.

He certainly looked the part, with a black leather vest and dark shiny sunglasses. While some of the teens there had tried to copy his style, there was something he had that they didn't which made him much cooler than them. Whispers went about the trees, what was it that he had? There was a way he moved, how he held himself tall and proud, bold and confident. Nobody was going to tell him what to do; he'd stand up to any authority.

Even the king. “Yeah, I was one of the guys they threw in jail for making a statement they didn't like,” Chilldrake said, not repentant at all. “But their security was totally lame, we knocked the bars over and got out of there without a scratch.”

Only bad monsters went to jail, they really shouldn't listen to him. Still, not many monsters ever went to jail, much less broke out. Those who did became known and talked about everywhere. While nearly everyone on UnderNet were saying that they were terrible people, Chilldrake was now being talked about by everyone, not just being a local hero to a small few. It was a notoriety like no one else had around here. And really, wasn't notoriety just another form of popularity?

“What were you saying to make them mad at you?” one of the younger teens asked, wanting to be that cool too.

“Only the truth, that King Asgore is a coward,” Chilldrake said, shifting his sunglasses. There seemed to be an orange glint there. “Lots of monsters are cowards, you see. They tell all those old exaggerated stories of war so we all stay put down here in this underground prison. Now while the one we broke out of was definitely lame, our bigger prison is stronger. But you see, we already have the means to break out. Humans used to fear monsters.”

As he spoke, something grew around Chilldrake. It wasn't something the other teen monsters could see. But they could feel it. The presence of someone powerful, someone defiant. Someone who didn't go down without a fierce fight. How did one get to be that awe inspiring? They wanted to be like that. To be feared, that would be an incredible feeling.

“There is still some fear of us in the humans, so we could become a true terror to them if we go for it,” Chilldrake said in an odd voice that seemed like someone else was speaking with him. “We could be a terror to everyone. The coming war isn't something to be afraid of, it's something we can thrive in. In order to get others ready and raring to go, I’ve come back to make others see our way.”

They hadn't expected this chat to turn to war, but his words made them anticipate the possibility.

* * *

A steady wind blew through the cavern that made up the city of New Home. Up on one of the highest rooftops, a solitary figure looked down to the streets where monsters scurried around getting their daily business done. There was an air of wariness and fear. Embarrassing, they were all cowards that deserved to be snuffed out. At the same time, satisfying. It was him that made them so afraid. Catclaw was stalking the streets again and if you weren't careful, you'd be dead. A smile…

A dissonance. A fear within himself, of himself. What was happening to him? Was he really doing all these things? It seemed so alien. His thoughts weren't right.

“I’ve changed,” he said, trying to banish that bit of weakness. “For the better. Yes. I'll become a legend in my own right. I look down on them, pah. They're not proper monsters; I will be one. I'm sick of being a good girl, I’ll carve my own...” dissonance. “girl?”

Catclaw rubbed his ear, his tail twitching in uneasiness. When he got into the flow of things, it felt so good to throw off his previous constraints and restraints. He felt powerful, in charge of his own destiny. In charge of the destiny of others. Yes, that was a good feeling. One needed to cull out the rotten portions of society to make changes. Then there would be these moments of dissonance when he realized he was killing people and that was horrifying. Satisfying. What was it?

Or maybe, was there a judge nearby? His ears shifted down and he turned about looking. The stairwell was open, nothing to hide behind. But maybe down? No, no one there. No signs of obscuring magic. No signs of their holy magic. Instead, there was a powerful presence approaching. Hate. Lashing out in fear. Screams, blood, tears, fury, madness. That wasn't a judge, that was…

Turning and looking up, he watched as a winged being approached the roof he was standing on. Hiding out on, really, nobody came up here. No, he was waiting. Was he? Feathers fell off the creature, scented of death. Its yellow eyes were bright and fierce. “Are the others in possession?”

Others…? But that uncertainty got clouded over. They knew what was going on. “There's only one dominant enough to go along with us,” she said. “The other three are weaklings trying to hide. I sent him off to spread discontent. When do you want me to go after the king?”

The creature hissed. “Not yet. He must be crushed. He thinks he is guilty, but it is not enough.”

She scowled and let out claws. “I want to kill him. You said you just wanted to make him suffer, so let me kill him once you're done.”

“There should be no end to his suffering,” it retorted. “Ruin the rest of the monsters, that will make him suffer even greater. You would put an end to him too early.”

“I would kill him over and over again if I could,” she said, relenting on that.

“And you don't seem entirely in control, unlike me.”

Catclaw snorted. “You didn't even try to take control. There is dissonance.” She rubbed his ears, just as he had a moment ago. “Still has some ethics. Even when I show how nice it is to be without that finally, it hasn't entirely died. It will. We'll be death.”

“We'll be vengeance,” it said.

A few minutes later, Catclaw was standing on the edge of the rooftop, looking down over the city. There was a light haze in his mind, what time was it? There was a dark feather in his hand, one that smelled of death. Did it? It didn't smell quite like dust. Something like… blood? The only creatures that would have blood down here were animals. Unless there was a human around. That would be good. If there was a human around, he could claim their soul and pass through the barrier, to grow even stronger by claiming more human souls. It wouldn't take long for him to become unstoppable that way.

He'd been hiding long enough. His claws itched to be used. If they didn't agree to war, then he'd cut down as many cowards as he had to until they were all ready to go on the attack. That was what he was to do. What he'd decided on. Yes. This was his destiny.

He jumped down and started to search.

* * *

It was dumb, stupid! He didn't have a soul; that's why he only felt negative emotions. That had to be why. That didn't explain the stupid arrow, but he wouldn't put it past Frisk to have tricked him with that spell. But what purpose did it serve to try proving that he had a soul? He was a flower, he couldn’t have a soul! He really couldn't have a soul after all he'd done. That stupid human had to have some plot up his sleeves. Someone like the both of them couldn't be good.

Someone like both of them…

“It wasn't her,” Flowey muttered, flicking his leaves out. Couldn't be her. He could feel himself being shredded and crushed. No, put that out of mind. He just had to be careful. Yes, careful. It wasn't that he was afraid, he just knew that Frisk was stupidly powerful and shouldn't be taken head-on.

At least Frisk was going at a normal pace now. The human could cast magic to move unnaturally fast, leaving Flowey to lose him early this morning when he'd gone back towards the Ruins. But he'd come back, stopping with the magical movement to check a store for supplies and see how Toriel was doing. Flowey had tried to eavesdrop, but there was a huge turmoil of feel… no, thoughts. He wasn't feeling anything for Toriel besides disdain because he was soulless.

It was just so wrong, the way those two spoke to each other. Toriel shouldn't be looking at Frisk with that warmth to her eyes; he couldn't be her child, they were completely different beings! And Frisk, he was corrupt no matter how much he claimed to be trying to redeem himself. He shouldn’t be clasping her hand like that and looking sad that he had to leave her when she wasn't well. He didn't deserve a mother, especially not one as wonderful as… well it didn't matter to Flowey, he didn't love anybody like that. Or at all. He had no friends, not since he'd lost the only one who ever mattered. Anyhow, it made such a mess of his thoughts that Flowey just fled the clinic and went to the road that Frisk had to take to get to Hotland.

Wouldn't give anyone any worthless pity, that's how he was. He'd make him suffer. That was worth a smile, imagining crushing Frisk over and over again just as he'd done to him. Making him feel that deep well of dread. But, that was dumb. Frisk could be an unstoppable force. There had to be something, though. If his inner determination made him so unstoppable, then something had to change inside Frisk in order to actually stop him. There had to be a way.

A young rabbit monster walked by Flowey, mumbling to himself. From the ears, it was Cinna. From the eyes, it was one of those who had been possessed. Flowey felt some satisfaction on seeing the kid. Not as powerful, but that just showed how special they'd been. Cinna stopped for a little while in confusion, then moved a few steps before stopping and holding his head in his paws. What were they going off to do? But he had to keep an eye on Frisk.

While Flowey was deciding, who else should walk by but Frisk himself. The flower watched unnoticed as Frisk and Cinna spoke. Were they really…? It gave him a wicked idea. Grinning, Flowey dug undergound. It didn't take him long to find one of the boy's family. His sister, if he had the right idea. “Cinnamon-bun-bun! Come on, where are you?”

“Hey, I just saw that kid over on the road to Waterfall,” Flowey said.

“What?” the girl bunny said, turning to him. But he'd already gone under the snow. She looked around in confusion. “Who? But...” she decided to leave off figuring who said that in order to check on the road. Flowey followed after her.

Unfortunately, she wasn't bold enough to go confront Frisk. She didn't even want to get close to someone she recognized as a human. Flowey frowned and tried to think of something to provoke her. But then, she came up with something even better. She brought out her phone to record the pair talking even though they weren't close enough to hear what was being said.

“I don't know what that human is doing with my little brother, but Undyne will make sure he doesn't get away with it,” the girl rabbit said. And it got even better because she could record the human using some spell to make himself look like a rabbit monster before he took Cinna's hand and walked with him into Waterfall.

This was going to be great entertainment.


	19. Unintentional Kidnapping

'Hey, has anybody even seen the ferry person this week? I was okay with them taking a break, since they're out there every day, all hours of the day. But I'm getting worried now with their passage being quiet. They said they'd be back in a few days, but they usually don't take this long to get back in service.'

Outside the Snowdin clinic, Frisk sighed and shook his head after reading that post on UnderNet. “There goes the simple way to get by Undyne. Guess I’ll have to walk.” He put in a search for a map of Waterfall. “Should have the right supplies to camp out in one of the caverns if I can't find someone willing to board me for a night, just need a plan.”

While he was figuring out his route, an email reply came in from Papyrus. 'You don't have to apologize, I still think you're cool. I'm working out my distraction plan! Although, figuring out how to construct a giant cake has me stumped. I don't have a giant oven after all. But stay positive and you can make it! I'm sure of it! And if you do run into Undyne, just tell her you're a friend of me and Sans. That should help.

'That reminds me, I wanted to ask, what did you say to Sans last night? He said the two of you talked about stuff, but not exactly what. Normally, I just leave him be about things like that, but whatever you said or did has actually got him working last night rather than being a laze-about in bed! That's really incredible, I had to ask if he felt sick or something. He laughed and said maybe, but then said it was something important he had to do. Something about his collection of notebooks and time mechanics (by the way, if you get to talking to him again, don't ask about time mechanics! It'll give you a headache trying to follow him!) But he's in a really good mood, so I'm not too worried about him.

'Oh yeah, one last thing. Since you're going into Waterfall once you get your stuff, could you keep an eye out for a kid who's gone missing? The O'Hares said that their son Cinnamon (most people call him Cinna) left home early this morning and hasn't shown back up. He's usually a good quiet kid, one of the rabbit monsters with light brown fur and long ears that fall down instead of stand up. Even if it's just been a few hours, we're already looking around because his mom Choco said he was acting strangely and might even be sick. The snow's pretty deep due to the storm, so we got to figure out where he is quick.

'Have a nyeh-ful day! From Papyrus'

“A lost kid, huh?” Frisk said quietly. The locals would have an easier time finding him since they knew the area. But it wouldn't hurt to keep aware in case he ran into the kid. He sent back a quick note saying that he'd look for Cinna along the way and that Sans' study of time mechanics were something that was going to help out all of them. While everyone else wouldn't realize it, that information might let them keep going forward instead of looping backwards.

Due to the search for Cinna, there weren't many people in town. Frisk didn't see anyone as he walked down the main street. Once he got past Papyrus and Sans' house, though, he did see someone up ahead: a young rabbit monster who had his long ears hanging down. He was wearing a black bandanna with snowflakes around his head, but his ears didn't seem like they were being held down that way. He also wore a white t-shirt with a snowman on the back, black pants, and a black scarf. Near the end of the line of pine trees, he was looking at the cavern entrance to Waterfall.

It was kind of amazing that he hadn't been found with that black clothing on, Frisk thought to himself. Maybe he'd been hiding among the pine trees up until now. He went over to the kid, making sure his footfalls weren't too quiet. Didn't want to scare him, after all. As Frisk got closer, he began feeling like something wasn't right. The magic around Cinna didn't feel like other monsters. In fact, there was a distinct tinge of green on his soul when monster souls were generally white.

“Hey, are you Cinna?” Frisk asked when he got within a couple feet and the kid still hadn't turned around.

“Uh-huh,” the rabbit said, then hiccupped. He looked up at him, traces of tears matting down the fur on his face. His eyes were almost glowing with green. “Oh, you are a human.”

He nodded. “Yes, I'm Frisk. What are you...?”

Before he could ask the question, Cinna clutched him in a tight hug. “Wanna go home, scary monsters,” he said, but in what seemed to be a girl's voice. Then his own voice came back as he said, “No, don't want to go home. Latte's being horrible again. Home's here...” and the girl voice came back, “Home's far away, don't wanna be here.”

Mentally going through his information, Frisk put a hand on the rabbit boy's back. “And you're Becca in there, aren't you?”

“Don't know any Becca,” Cinna said.

“My name, yes,” Becca said, confused and upset. “Forgot it, scary monsters, scary nightmares, thank you. Um, can you take me home?”

“I don't want to go home,” Cinna said, also confused and shaking his head.

“I'll do my best to get Becca home,” Frisk said. Now then... he had to identify what kind of ghost she'd turned into. This looked like a possession similar to what Chara's remnant had done to Papyrus, Toriel, and Napstablook. It was curious, given the story he'd read about Prince Asriel and Princess Chara. Perhaps there was a difference in intent, or connection? In any case, it was probably best to separate Cinna and Becca here.

“Who's Becca?” Cinna asked, looking up at him again.

“I'm Becca,” she said.

“No I’m not, I’m...” he shook his head.

Frisk took hold of Cinna's paw and squeezed it. “Calm down, we'll work this out. Cinna, you've encountered a ghost of a little girl named Becca, a human. She passed away a long time ago but can't rest while she remains down here. I want to take her back to the surface, back to her home so she can rest peacefully and return to the mother earth. But she's gotten attached to you.”

“Huh, why?” He hiccupped again, but stopped hugging him and just kept hold of his hand.

“Nice person, not scary,” Becca said. “All alone, nightmares happened, scary plans, all alone. Don't want to be alone, want to go home.”

“Seems like she wanted a friend who could keep her safe,” Frisk said. “But ghosts are often confused beings, so she doesn't realize when she's causing trouble.”

“I don't know if I could protect someone from scary things,” Cinna said, trying to consider this while Becca made him cry again. “Or be a friend to a human... oh, you're a human Frisk?” Now he wasn't sure, although Becca definitely didn't want to let go of him as possibly the first human she'd seen in decades. “Are you gonna hurt us?”

Frisk shook his head. “No, I don't want to hurt anybody. I came down here to help Becca and a few other ghosts like her, but now I want to help out you monsters too by breaking the barrier. But before all that,” he patted Cinna's hand, “I know it must be confusing to have someone else's mind among your thoughts. So I can take you back to your home and we can work on...”

Without warning, Cinna cried out, “No!” His and Becca's magic combined to send out a burst of sound magic. Frisk's cloak guarded against it, but it felt strong for a pair of kids. “No, no, no, I’m not going back home! Wanna go home!”

Now what? He wasn't really someone to be helpful in calming someone down. “Okay, okay!” Cinna still cried and trembled. “Hush, please. If you don't want to go back into Snowdin, well I was meaning to go into Waterfall anyhow.”

“Don't wanna go home, Latte's being mean,” Cinna grumbled.

“Then where did you mean to go from here?” Frisk asked.

It sort of worked, in that he swung back into confusion looking back to the tunnel. “Huh? I was going, um,”

“Going home,” Becca mumbled.

“Going somewhere,” Cinna said. “Dunno where, just somewhere. Um, what're we doing? Who are you?”

“I’m Frisk,” he repeated. “And I’m going into Waterfall to get to Hotland. Also, I want to help you both out. I'm going to see a very smart scientist, so maybe she can help us all.”

Of course, Alphys didn't know much about ghosts or possessions, only what he had told her. Still, if she studied the nature of souls, she might have some equipment that could better separate the two. He just needed to keep close watch over Cinna here. What he remembered of Waterfall let him know that it wasn't the kind of place for someone to wander around in a confused state of possession. Nor here, really, not with the cliffs and freezing river.

“I’m okay,” Cinna said. “But, um, that sounds good. Can I go with you?”

“Sure thing,” Frisk said. “Just give me a moment. I don't want to draw a lot of notice, so I prepared an illusion so I look more like a normal monster.” He brought out the bracelet he'd prepared, one that made his body appear like that of a dark brown rabbit monster with short upright ears. It didn't change the look of his cloak, but hopefully that was enough.

“That's pretty good magic,” he said.

“Why're you looking like them?” Becca asked, calmed down herself.

She kept some reason albeit the mood swings ruined that. There was also her tears, fears, and the screaming attack. While that magic was like a banshee's, she didn't seem angry herself even if Cinna was mad at points. Unless that was her? But the way she clung to him and asked that question didn't seem banshee like. Maybe a weeper? They could use the same kind of magic.

She made Cinna tug his hand. “Why?”

“Oh, sorry, got lost in thought,” Frisk said, smiling some in trying to keep their trust. “The monsters down here are looking for humans, and there's some that honestly won't be happy to see us around. So I’m looking like them so they don't think I’m trouble.”

“I see.”

“Let's get going, we have a long ways to walk,” he said, keeping Cinna's paw while they entered the warmer tunnels of Waterfall.

* * *

'No way, you're the cutie sweetheart of us! <3'

There were moments, like this one, where it felt like nothing could go wrong. It was worth getting up every day to see what would come; it was worth getting through all this research to find real solutions and causes. Not only that, but there was something to look forward to. No, not just something, several things. Getting access to the human internet and all the information (and anime) they were holding onto, actually seeing the barrier come down in her lifetime, and any moment with Undyne. Even these little fluffy texts.

'Well you can be my brave hero to keep me safe, right? ;)'

But even as Alphys felt giddily happy at this, there was always that lurking doubt that whispered that something could indeed go wrong with all this. For one thing, the ferry was still out. That meant Frisk had to walk through Waterfall. Undyne was in the capitol for now. But if she got even a hint that there would be trouble in her home area, she would drop everything and go check it out. Frisk had a map, but Waterfall still took time to navigate.

It was complicated more by the fact that he'd picked up a traveling companion in a kid from Snowdin, for which he logged into the lab system to text her about. 'ElderF: Cinna's been possessed by one of the lost souls, Becca. I know he'll slow me down, but somebody has to keep an eye on him due to his confused state. The two aren't mixing entirely.'

That could be a difference that made things work differently. The remnant with Frisk caused Papyrus to have a dark smokey aura and attacked when Papyrus would not have, completely overtaking him. From the text, neither the kid Cinna nor Becca were in full control, but it didn't work well for either of them. And from the past, a monster that absorbed a human, got them to cooperate, and worked together would be able to transform into a much more powerful form. So it depended on the relationship between the pair…

While Alphys was coming up with a reply, Sans got in before her. 'GasterS: what can we do about cinna and becca? the former's family are looking for him.'

'ElderF: I have to properly identify Becca's ghost, although getting the pair separated is best. But I can tell Cinna doesn't want to go home. He seems mad about his sister, can't get more of that story from him.'

'SauroA: Can you tell anything about her yet? We could figure out where to take Cinna for now.'

Then she got a text from Undyne. 'I'll keep them from ever laying a hand on you in the first place!'

At least it was coming through two different services; it was easier to keep them separate. 'I know you will, love you for it.'

'ElderF: She's definitely within the banshee class, though an actual banshee would be the worst possibility. I think she's a weeper, but I’ll have to actually see her outside of Cinna's body to be sure. For now, I really don't want him on his own, so if there's anywhere I can drop him off until we get things sorted, that'd be good.'

'GasterS: i've got some people to meet today, including you frisk, so i can get cinna taken somewhere safe. about his family, doesn't surprise me that he finally got fed up with his sister. we can ask his parents if there's anyone they trust to watch him.'

'SauroA: Anything else we can prepare?'

'ElderF: Given the ghost's class, it would be helpful to contact someone who can use magic with music. The weaker ones like the weeper can be pacified simply with an enchanted lullaby to separate them. Actually, I’ve met one who would be skilled enough, Napstablook. Unless you two know someone else.'

'GasterS: they're not too social, but they could be asked.'

Alphys recognized Napstablook as Undyne's neighbor, but she didn't know the ghost well enough to ask them. It might be something to hold off on until they got Undyne convinced Frisk was good. While she was considering other options (there was a well-known shop in Waterfall that could look after Cinna, but that was midway through), she got a text from Undyne. 'There's a human mage around! Someone took a video of them using illusion magic and taking off with a Snowdin kid. I have to go out to take care of them.'

Now what? Swearing under her breath, Alphys knew this had to be handled fast. 'SauroA: Frisk, you've been busted. Someone got a video of you using the illusion magic and sent it to Undyne..' Then to her, 'Be careful! We know how powerful they can be.'

Undyne replied first. 'Right, but that's why I need to take care of things. Don't worry, I won't do anything too reckless. I know what they should be capable of.'

'ElderF: Well that's disappointing, after all the planning that went into this.'

'GasterS: she shouldn't attack while cinna is with you, but we should still get him somewhere safe.'

'ElderF: Right, I'd rather he not be involved.'

In the meantime, Alphys had come up with something that might get Undyne to be more careful. 'Actually, I’ve been thinking, maybe that human is my friend Nevyn? Because he said he could meet up with me soon to discuss taking the barrier down, and he just asked me about helping a kid from Snowdin.'

'GasterS: i'll keep an eyesocket out for you two until then.'

'SauroA: There aren't a lot of places to drop him off close by, not without going off your path towards Hotland. But if you're not disrupted, you might be able to reach the old hero's shop by the end of the day.' That might be a stretch, but possible.

'What?! Don't be taken in by him, he must be fooling you for some reason. But if he can contact you, I should lock down communications around Waterfall so he can't manipulate us that way.'

“I really don't want to work against either of you,” Alphys said, shaking her head as she sent a text to Undyne, 'Why? Even if he can, the people there should be alerted. And we wouldn't be able to talk, if you wanted to ask about something going on.'

'ElderF: Well I'll keep the illusion up for now. And have to cut the chat short, I need to keep an eye on Cinna now that we've come across a waterfall in our path.'

Maybe he'd check one last message. 'SauroA: Good luck, and don't forget that she thinks you kidnapped him. Be careful if you run across her.'

'ElderF: I will be.'

'Well keep an eye on things and make sure he doesn't mess with the electronics. Don't worry about me, I’ll get this handled.'

Alphys was more worried about Undyne doing harm to Frisk than the other way around. But she could do this. There had to be a way to resolve this peacefully.

* * *

Until he heard from Sans or Alphys about where to take Cinna, Frisk's goal for now was getting him to the shop she had mentioned. Unfortunately, it was midway through the area and getting there by the end of the day was questionable. They waded through several streams crossing the pathway, walked by waterfalls that filled the caverns with cool mist, and got past some deeper pools with some sandbanks and large lilypads. A slight wind blew through the tunnels, stronger in some places. In spite of the interesting surroundings, Cinna wasn't paying much attention.

They got through the largest of the sandbar rooms and entered a dimly lit tunnel. There had been another path, but it required getting over a passage of deep water. Although given how dark this area was getting, he wondered if it was worth it to try using the bridge flowers to get down there. This way was supposed to be shorter, but it was hard to tell if there were any holes around here. He kept Cinna's paw, as thankfully Becca at least wanted to stay near him.

Then a soft silver light appeared around the corner, much like moonlight. It lit up the floor so he knew it was safe. On entering that area, he noticed sparkling points overhead. This must have been the star caverns that Papyrus mentioned. It was quite an effect, more like he was walking down a rocky passage at night on the surface rather than in a hallway underground close to noon. If he had taken the ferry, he would've have missed seeing it.

“Are you doing okay?” Frisk asked, nudging Cinna to make sure he noticed the question.

“I'm okay,” Cinna said, although not convincingly.

“We could stop for a moment to get something to eat,” he offered. He'd only stocked up on food he could eat, but it would be easy enough to summon up some ingredients and put together something quickly that the young monster could eat.

That did get him to stop, closing his eyes and saying something too quietly for Frisk to hear. “I guess,” Becca said.

“I'm hungry,” Cinna said. “Um, where are we going?”

Before Becca could confuse him again with wanting to go home, Frisk said, “We're going to a shop that a friend recommended to me. They might be able to help you there.”

“My aunt runs a shop,” he said, looking around. “But she would insist I go back home. Hey… where are we? Are those stars?”

“Are we outside?” Becca added, then sniffled.

“No, we're in a place called the Wishing Hall, according to that sign over there,” Frisk said, sitting down on a rock by the wall. It was smoothed and shaped like someone had worked on it for that purpose. “What do you want for lunch?”

“Um, I like peanut butter sandwiches,” Cinna said.

“With jelly?” he asked. That was an easy task, first needing two slices of bread called up. If he put some extra power into the spell, he could sidestep the steps to recreate bread and still make it taste fine.

“Yeah, like strawberry,” he said. “Oh, but Mom says it's hard to make small amounts.”

“I can handle it,” Frisk said, already calling up a bit of peanut butter. That and the jelly were regular ingredients, although it would be more efficient to make up a larger batch at a time. Once he had the parts, he focused on the idea of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to complete it. He also thought about being back with Toriel at their home. Perhaps that could help calm them both. “There you go,” he said, handing over the completed sandwich.

“You're pretty good,” Becca said.

Once Cinna took a bite, he agreed. “Yeah, that's great. How'd you get that skilled?”

“A lot of practice, with good friends,” Frisk said, then took out his tablet to call out ingredients to put together his own sandwich. A bit of magic made sure he didn't have to use any utensils in doing so.

“I can do magic cooking too,” Becca said. “I can make eggs, um, three different ways, and cookies, and I even managed to make some donuts, with Mom's help.”

“That's good too,” Frisk said. The donuts had to be convinced with oil and high heat, which wasn't easy to handle safely. It was also good that she'd calmed down. Not wanting to agitate her, he turned the conversation over to Cinna. “What's the deal with your sister?”

“She always makes me wear the clothes she makes and shows me off like some doll,” Cinna said. “If I tell her I don't like it, she pouts and whines until I have to go along with her. And then she'll tell embarrassing stories about us to everybody, making them worse if I complain. Once I stopped complaining, she and Mom just assumed I was okay with it. But I’m not! I'm not going back.”

“Can't blame you for feeling that way,” Frisk said. “What did you plan to do when you left home?”

“I dunno,” Cinna admitted. “I guess I was gonna find someone to teach me to be better, like Evan got Undyne to teach him to be stronger. But, I don't want to fight. I don't care what I do, just as long as it doesn't have anything to do with cute clothes.'

“Well I know you don't like your sister, but what about talking to your parents?” he asked.

Cinna shook his head. “No, they'll just tell me to get along with Latte like always. I mean, I like my parents, but they don't want us to fight and say whatever so we don't. And I always end up losing cause I’m younger.”

“How about you try telling them that you feel that way?”

“They don't believe me cause I’m a kid,” he said.

Perhaps they needed the boy's parents to contact him first to get this resolved. Frisk considered trying to make contact with them if Cinna wanted to rest after lunch. At the very least, he might be able to convince them that he didn't mean to kidnap their son.

* * *

“Watch your step,” the human warned the monster child, tugging him away from the edge of the wooden walkway. They were getting deep into the swamp, where the glow of magic infused the soggy ground. While a large number of plants grew within the swamp, it was still dangerous to go out there. The ground would suck in most monsters that tried to walk across it.

He seemed to be nice to the kid, Undyne thought as she watched the pair while hiding among the water sausage plants. The kid was confused and needed guidance to keep on the winding walkways. However, seeming wasn't being. After all, a hostage would be no good if the kidnapper lost the victim. The human hadn't made any demands yet. What purpose did he have for Cinna? At least she'd gotten the human's name from their conversations: Frisk. And a weird name it was.

She'd been trailing them through the afternoon, waiting for a chance to get in and get the kid away. Then she could deal with the human alone. But since he kept the child close, it was frustrating. He also checked a strangely thin device often, on which he must have a map. This was because he was certain of where they were going in spite of the many branching paths and levels through the Wishing Hall and following swamp areas.

Which worried her a great deal. If he kept going like that, they'd end up in the area she and most other residents of Waterfall lived. And maybe even all the way through to Hotland where Alphys lived. She had said that he might be one of her internet friends. However, she didn't see how a human could be a real friend. They had locked all the monsters under this mountain after winning that ancient war, and then forgot all about them! There was no way that the human could really be here to help them. Just himself.

“Are you doing okay?” Frisk asked, as he had several times today. “We could take a moment to rest if you're tired of walking.”

“I have to get home,” Cinna said. Except, for some reason, he sounded like a girl just then. It had happened a lot, sometimes to the point of having a conversation with himself.

Like now. “I’m not going back home, not as long as my sister is there.”

“But scary place,” the girl voice sobbed.

“You'll be okay with me,” Frisk said. “We haven't even run into any monsters this whole time. Which is a little odd.”

“I don't think we'll run into anyone scary,” Cinna said, pulling Frisk towards one of the pathways. “Let's go.”

“Not that way, I think,” Frisk said, double-checking his device. “You sure you don't want a break?”

“We should keep going,” he said.

“We're not in any hurry and I could use a break.” With that finally convincing the kid, they stopped there on one of the large platforms and sat down.

Maybe now would be a good time to get Cinna away from the human. Or, she thought as she got over to the walkway, she could set up a situation to trap them and force the kid away. Frisk was taking care of him, so maybe he wouldn't try to hurt him. Though if the human wasn't going hurt the kid, maybe he really meant no harm? Maybe he really did mean to break the barrier? There was also the fact that he'd come out of the Ruins and his story matched up with Evan's report about what happened to the gate in Snowdin. But if he was tricking them, then it was quite a tricky trick indeed.

Confronting him about letting go of Cinna might prove his intentions, Undyne thought. And she could think of a dramatic place to confront him. In the time they rested, she could get pathways blocked and the area prepared for a showdown. Yes... she smiled. That should do it. As she sent out orders to get them to where she wanted them, she considered what she might say.

* * *

'Hey Catclaw!

'Being swell down here in Snowdin, got about a dozen teens willing to join our efforts so far. Adults are being the stick in the mud sort, as usual. They're all wound up about a kid gone missing. But you know, that could end up in our favor. See, he got kidnapped by a human! They got a video of him and everything, and now the pair are making their way through Waterfall. It'd put us in competition with Undyne who will be trying to take his soul for the king, but we could get more powerful with another soul on our side. What do you say?

'Chilling out the authority, Chilldrake'

'To Chilldrake:

'Slow down there. It would be nice to take out Undyne; that'd really put fear of us into the populous. But do we really want another human killed in this situation? Of course, the potential power could be an asset for us, put us in position to put that king down for good. Might mean ticking off that guy. But, he's being a soft lazy bum even though he says he's all for justice! Decisions, decisions.

'Let's wait for now. Catclaw'


	20. History in Art

A good portion of Snowdin's population was hanging around the library, there to support the O'Hares as they waited to hear about what was going on with their son. Knowing that they'd likely be shocked at the truth, Sans got them into a side room to discuss the matter with them. “I got a chance to watch the two of them around noon and the human isn't forcing Cinna to stick with him. He even made him lunch.”

“But the human took Cinna off into Waterfall, I saw that,” Latte insisted.

“That may be your fault,” Sans told her.

“It can't be.”

Choco put her hand on her shoulder. “Hold on, let's hear what he has to say.”

That matched what Cinna had complained about, so Sans didn't mind telling them straight. “You remember noticing that his eyes were suddenly green this morning? Well don't let this news get too far, but the human souls the king has been keeping managed to escape. One of them has attached itself to Cinna, which has confused him. But it also brought out thoughts he usually hides, like how he resents that you dress him up how he doesn't want to look like and embarrass him into cooperating if he tries to refuse.”

“That's not true,” Latte said. “We have so much fun together.”

“He doesn't,” Sans said. While Choco and Jack were able to accept that, Latte stubbornly didn't want to. It took Sans saying that Cinna didn't want to come home while Latte was there for her to stop arguing. She didn't accept it fully, going to pout silently in the corner. But it let them move on with the conversation.

“If one of those souls is confusing him, how do we get it taken care of?” Jack asked.

“And how do we get him away from the human, even if it seems okay now?” Choco asked.

“I think getting your son away from the human will be the simple part,” Sans said. “I've talked to the guy and he's reasonable. I'm sure I could convince him to let me take Cinna somewhere else. Thing is, where would you like me to take Cinna until things get sorted out? Bringing him back here might cause him to run off again; we might need those two siblings to talk over the phone before he'll agree to come home.”

“I have some family in the capitol, but it's been dangerous there lately,” Choco said. “I do have some friends in Waterfall, though.”

“Those guys?” Jack asked. “Aren't they kind of flaky?”

She shook her head. “They might seem like it, but you can count on them when it matters. Plus, if Cinna really is having trouble expressing himself, they can help him.”

“Possibly.”

“Whatever it takes to get him help, I’m on your side,” Sans said. Although he was on multiple sides, to tell the truth. But he wanted things to work out for the best, so the lines between sides had to be erased.

* * *

Not long after they took a break in the swamp, things started to go wrong. The map claimed to be up to date, but one of the walkways cut off short and there was no apparent way to get it extended so they could reach the path they needed to take. Frisk was able to see a couple of side routes that could get them to central Waterfall, but both of those were similarly blocked off. While he could think of ways to get himself across, that would mean leaving Cinna behind.

Frisk went to a set of stairs went upward into drier territory, mostly so he could let go of the child and not lose him. He got out his tablet to sent a message to Alphys. 'Our paths have been blocked out, anything you can do? One at least looks like it was just retracted.'

Unfortunately, she couldn't help that way. 'Sorry, Undyne did that. I want to help you, but I don't want to anger her. On the plus side, I've been chatting with her just now and she seems like she might listen. Sans has also gotten word from the O'hares about what to do with Cinna. Head on up those stairs and he'll meet you up there. That should help to convince Undyne to listen to you as well.'

'Thanks, that sounds like a good plan.' He put his tablet away, then went up a few steps to where Cinna had gone. “Okay, we should be able to make progress this way now,” Frisk said.

“Good,” Becca said.

“Yeah, good,” Cinna added. Then he pointed up at a sign ahead. “Look, it's the Hall of History. My teacher told us about this place, but said it was hard to get here. But we got here.”

After a long day of walking, Frisk was feeling worn down and wanted to stop for the day. Maybe he could ask Undyne if there was an inn somewhere around? She might be willing if he added that he wouldn’t be able to battle her as well when he was tired, so it wouldn’t be a dramatic showdown. He smiled at the thought, then said to Cinna, “That's interesting. Is this place important in your history?”

“Um, kind of,” Cinna said, heading up the stairs. “I’m pretty good at history. When monsters first were locked underground, we wanted to get far away from the barrier and the possibility of humans passing through it. The caverns were natural then, full of uncontrolled magic and many dangers. There were some that wanted to stop here in Waterfall because there were some good areas like this one. They stayed, but most kept following King Asgore deeper in the caverns until they got to the farthest part, where the Ruins are now.”

He remembered reading about that. “Then this is where some of them stayed?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he said. “But, this place was actually made into a record of what happened in the war between humans and monsters a thousand years ago. The murals have been kept in good shape so the story always remains. I've wanted to see it.”

“Well this is a good chance to,” Frisk said. “Could you tell me about them?”

“I'll try.”

The murals were much like the books he had read in Toriel's collection. The monsters had seen the war as a hopeless effort; they'd been crushed by the human forces. In his studies in surface libraries, humans recorded the war to have been hard fought for both sides. But they both agreed that at the end, monsters surrendered and seven of the greatest human wizards created the barrier which sealed the monsters underneath Mt. Ebott. This was told in the form of many murals, which thankfully let them take a slower pace as Cinna wanted to look over them.

On the other hand, there were sets of stairs that kept bringing them towards the highest level in Waterfall. Frisk's map showed that at the end of this series of murals, there would be a maze of wooden walkways on many levels that stretched out over the vast Abyssal Lake. If Undyne meant to trap him, that was a good place to do so. Or even this hallway, since there were a number of dead end tunnels attached. All this walking and climbing made his legs feel heavy.

“Is this about the prince?” Cinna asked, stopping at the start of a new mural.

“What about the prince?” Frisk asked, looking at the wall.

“It's a long story, sad too,” he said. “But I learned the whole thing. Um, want to hear it?”

“Sure,” he said. He'd heard bits about Asriel, but there's been nothing in Toriel's books that mentioned him, strangely enough.

Cinna turned to him and Becca managed to keep quiet. “So, um, royal monsters are different than regular monsters. They can live forever if they want, at least until they have a child. Then they age as their child grows up. Asgore was king when the war happened a thousand years ago, and he's been king the whole time. He wasn't married at first, but then he met a beautiful and kind lady named Toriel. When they got married, people said they were the most romantic couple ever

“But they didn't have a child for a long time. They said it was okay because they were happy together. But then, they did have a child, um, about a hundred years ago I think. It was a boy and they named him Asriel. Everybody in the kingdom was really happy for them; some even said it was the happiest time in the history of the underground. As he grew up, Asriel became really nice and friendly, just like his parents.

“One time, they took him all through the underground, even into the Ruins past Snowdin. While they were there, Asriel came across something no one ever expected to see. A human girl named Chara had gotten lost on Mount Ebott and fell down a hole in a cave, which dropped her past the barrier. She was hurt, but Asriel helped her get back to where he and his parents were staying. Since there wasn't a way to get her back across the barrier, they brought her back to the castle and adopted her as one of their own.

“And, Asriel and Chara quickly became the best of friends.” By this point, Cinna was fully into telling the story, searching for parts in the murals. But only this one drawing seemed remotely related. “They went everywhere together, and the king and queen loved them a lot. But a couple years later, something bad happened. Chara got really sick; she couldn't even leave her bed. And she must've been homesick for the surface too, because she said that she really wanted to see some golden flowers again. But, those flowers didn't grow underground and none of us could leave. Nobody could cure her sickness either, so one evening, she finally died.

“The news spread quickly and everyone was really upset, especially Asgore and Toriel. And Asriel, he was so upset that he didn't want to leave his sister's side. But then while their parents were away, he took her body and disappeared with it. it caused a panic and people searched for hours. But shortly before dawn, he came back with Chara's body.

“Only, he wasn't the same. He'd been a little kid, but when he got back, he was like a grown-up monster, only really really powerful, like this drawing here. But even though he must've been strong, he was hurt badly and barely alive. The king, queen, and a couple of their servants were in the throne room when Asriel had come back. He didn't say anything, but somehow he was able to share what had gone on by showing those memories in their minds.

“So after Chara had died, Asriel actually heard her voice. He saw her soul and touched it, absorbing it into his own soul. It's just like these old stories talk about. Humans were afraid of us because we could absorb their souls after death and become much more powerful than we can be on our own. And, if a monster manages to acquire seven humans souls somehow, they become so powerful that they are considered gods. That's why they started the war and sealed us away.

“But back to Asriel and Chara. Once he was really strong, he picked up her body and took it right through the barrier, in order to return her home. When he got into the human city nearest Mount Ebott, he came across a flowerbed that was full of those golden flowers, just like she asked for. He was going to leave her there, but then humans had seen him and got scared. They came out and attacked him, thinking that he'd killed her. As powerful as he'd become, Asriel could have just destroyed them all.

“But he didn't even try to fight back. He just kept Chara's body and tried to get back home. Only, the humans had done such nasty damage to him already that he only made it back through sheer determination. Once he was back home, saw his parents, and told them a bit of what happened, he turned to dust.

“Everybody all through the kingdom was distraught over the tragedy. The older monsters say that it was like all hope was stolen from them with their loss. When that happens, bad things happen. See, monsters souls are made of hope, compassion, and uh, something else, so if we lose a part of that, we lose ourselves. A monster who loses all hope can entirely fade away, or just go crazy and become bad monsters that the judge monsters have to get rid of. So it was a really bad time for everybody.

“Asgore even grew angry about it, and he's so nice that he wouldn't hurt anybody. After his two children were lost in one night, he swore that he'd take the souls of other humans so he could break down the barrier and take revenge on them. Lots of monsters agreed with him and started to have hope that we could become free doing that. But Toriel hated that idea so much that she left the castle and said that she'd never come back. And nobody's seen her since, so she really meant it.

“Asgore was upset about that, but he meant what he said too. And that's how it's been ever since, although not enough humans have come to the underground for us to escape yet.”

Except that they would have enough if they could reclaim the six missing souls and kill him, Frisk thought. But he couldn't disappoint Toriel and let that happen. “I see. So the prince turned into something like this?” There was something familiar about the drawing. Unsettling too, it was more demonic than regular monsters. There was also text along the picture, something he recognized. “Hey wait, this form of writing, it's like what I’ve seen in some magical tomes.”

“Doesn't it just say the same thing as the rest of it?” Cinna asked. “Though, there is more of the weird letters.”

Checking just the first three words showed, “No, they don't. I don't read this often, but I can translate it...”

Then he heard someone walking towards them. Glancing back, he saw Sans there. He must have wanted them to know he was there. “Hey there,” Sans said. “What are you talking about?”

“The history murals,” Cinna said, turning to him. “Oh, Sans? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you two,” he said. “Something's going on with the paths getting cut off. Don't really want kids hanging around here until we have a better idea of what. Though, you should be okay Frisk.”

“Is there somewhere we could take Cinna that's safer?” Frisk asked, hoping he didn't set off either him or Becca with that wording.

“Back home?” Cinna asked warily.

“Not if you don't want it,” Sans said. “Your parents do want to talk with you, but they said it was okay if you went to see some friends of theirs here in Waterfall. I know a shortcut, we can get over there in a jiffy.”

“I guess that works,” he said, looking down.

“No scary monsters there?” Becca added.

“Some might say they're weird, but they're not scary,” Sans said. “Few people are scary once you get to know them. Though, if you're curious to hear what Frisk can read off the wall, we could stick around for a couple minutes.”

“Yeah, I never heard there was weird writing up here,” Cinna said, looking back to the wall.

“Well I'm not up here often, but I don't recall it either,” Sans said.

Frisk nodded and turned back to the text. “All right. This illustration they have is familiar, actually, though I can't recall it.” He put his hand on the wall and read along. “'In times long past, such gods were awakened such as Baphomet.' Oh wait,” he looked back at the drawing. It looked like a darker and more demonic version of Asgore, actually. “That is Baphomet.”

“Who's that?” Cinna asked. “Like it says above, a monster who managed to absorb seven human souls?”

“I'm not sure, but Baphomet is recognized in demonology as a patron devil of dangerous magics like summoning and the arts of a warlock,” Frisk said. And time magic as used by owners of a chronograph? Frisk put his hand to his chest, remembering that Baphomet was the name he'd gotten for the master who'd sent him down here. At the time, he hadn't studied much on demonology.

Oddly enough, Sans came over and picked out a word. “That the name?”

“Yes, why?”

“It's something to look into later. So this devil humans recognize was once a monster?”

“Maybe,” Frisk said, glancing ahead through the arcane text. But as he did, it was worrisome things. Could he really talk about this in front of these two? Maybe Sans, but he didn't want the kid hearing this. He would have before this cycle, but now he didn't want to let Cinna in on something that might be considered disturbing to the monsters. “Hmm. I'd read more, but this is technical stuff. I spent a long time studying magic, so I can understand, but I'm not sure how to explain it to those who haven't studied like me.”

“So it isn't more history?” Cinna asked, disappointed.

“No,” Which was half-true, there was some ancient history written down, well before the war that sealed monsters down here. “This actually talks about how magic works. So are you ready to go?”

“Sure,” he said.

But Becca had other ideas. “No more monsters, none.”

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Sans said.

“No!” They then rushed away, up the stairs onto the walkways over the lake.

“Cinna!” Frisk got up and ran after him.

* * *

Alphys rubbed her head, waiting a moment for the headache medicine to kick in. She wasn’t getting any of her actual work done due to the hectic work of trying to coordinate the situation in Waterfall. If this came to a battle soon, Frisk would be in a bad position. His paths had been narrowed down to some upper pathways that weren’t considered safe and he was tired. But anything she could think to do to help him in more than messages would be noticed by Undyne.

She went ahead and sent another message to Undyne. ‘I’m sure that’s my friend Nevyn now. I don’t know what to think about that.

Checking on the monitors, she could see Undyne trailing after Frisk and Cinna; the two of them were discussing the history murals there. ‘He’s been nice to the kid, but Cinna clearly isn’t doing well and he shouldn’t have took him from Snowdin!’

‘Can’t we give him a chance to explain himself? He wants to break the barrier.’

‘But he’s a human; we need his soul.’

‘Maybe we don’t? I know that’s what the king said, but it’s different now that I actually know one.’

‘It’d be easier just to kill him. But I will give you that. I’m a bit uneasy fighting him when he’s not done anything bad.’ She soon sent another message to continue. ‘And he looks tired. That’s just not a good fight if I challenge him now.’

“Good, we’re getting somewhere,” Alphys muttered as she composed a response. ‘Why don’t we give him a chance to rest and then talk? If he means trouble, you could beat him up then.’

‘I guess, but where would we keep a powerful human that he couldn’t just break out of?’

Recalling something Frisk had said, she wrote back, ‘You could bring him to the lab as I can lock down some rooms with an electrical forcefield. Electricity is more dangerous to humans than monsters.’

While she was waiting on a response, there was a knock at the door. Someone was visiting? She checked on the camera outside the lab and saw that it was Mettaton. That was a pleasant surprise. Pressing the intercom, she said, “Hey Mettaton, come on in.”

“Thanks.” He came in rather quietly compared to how he normally made an entrance. But he’d been like that lately, coming by to see her more often and being normal about it. If someone was around, though, he’d be more flashy. “Sorry for dropping in without warning, but I had some free time and wanted to get out of the city. It’s been chaotic there, and not even of the good chaos.”

“It’s those ones that have been killing others, isn’t it?” she asked. There were a lot of unexplained deaths and disappearances in the past few days. Rumor had it that an old killer, Catclaw, had come back to life. Or had come out of hiding like the judges had never taken care of him at all.

Mettaton nodded. “Dreadful business. I’ve been working to keep everyone’s spirits up, and Blooky’s even been helping although he wants to stay in the shadows unnoticed. Which is fine, a spotlight’s best for one person.”

That reminded her of the discussion earlier. “Oh right, I was hoping to talk to you or someone who could get in contact with Napstablook, if that’s okay. Something’s come up and they may be able to help out.”

“Oh really? What’s the occasion?” He leaned on the back of her chair. “We’ve been writing up a song to knock everyone’s socks off, did you hear about that?”

“No,” she said, although it sounded interesting. She turned back to the monitor and pointed out Cinna. “This rabbit here has been possessed by one of the human souls that the king had; they got lost, we’re still investigating that. We have to separate the two souls and calm the human one down in order to help them. And, this human here, well it’s complicated, but he’s a friend and he says that the particular kind of soul needs to be calmed through magical song. Either them or you could do something, I’m sure.”

“Hey that,” Mettaton stepped aside to look closer. “I bet that’s him.”

“You know the human too?” Alphys asked, surprised. Maybe they talked on UnderNet? Or another site?

He shook his head. “Not myself. But you know that song I mentioned? Blooky said the inspiration came from an encounter with a nice human in a bad situation. They got possessed, but the human managed to trap the possessing soul within himself.” Then Mettaton chuckled. “Has to be him, since there wouldn’t be another human around. I’m sure Blooky with be thrilled for a chance to return the favor, I’ll talk with them in a bit.”

“Great, I’ll have to let Frisk know once things get resolved here,” she said. She also sent a message to Sans: ‘Got Mettaton to talk to Napstablook, so we should be good there.’

“Is that Undyne following them?” Mettaton asked, noticing another screen.

“Yeah, it’s been chaotic over there too,” Alphys said. “I don’t want to betray either of them, really, but I knew that if I didn’t do something, one of them could end up dead. More likely Frisk since he doesn’t want to hurt anybody else, then we’ve got Cinna to worry about as well. It’s even got Sans to help out, and he doesn’t like to do much.”

“Sounds rough,” he said. “How’s she taking this?”

“I’m starting to get her to change her mind,” she said.

Right as she said that, she got a message from Undyne. ‘I guess that will work. I hope I do get to duel him; wouldn’t be exciting without that.’ Maybe for her, just as long as they agreed to nothing deadly.

“What’s the writing they’re looking at?” Mettaton asked.

“That’s the explanation of how powerful monsters can become when they absorb human souls,” she said, knowing what that section of the murals was about.

“But that doesn’t look familiar,” he said. “Like someone added stuff.”

“Did they?” She looked at the screen herself. There was extra writing there, filling up an area near the illustration. When she focused in on it, even the kind of text was unfamiliar. “Huh. I don’t remember that being there.” She asked the lab computer to translate it; it might be in an older alphabet monsters used early in the imprisonment. Though, who would be writing with that now?

The kid then ran off, causing Frisk and Undyne to run after him. Meanwhile, Sans blinked out, reappearing on one of the deck off-shoots. It caused Cinna to take another path. “Hope they’ll be okay,” Mettaton said. “Last I heard, they were telling people not to use those walkways as being too dangerous.”

“Right,” Alphys said. She couldn’t do a lot about that. The walkways here were shorter than some others they could have gotten to, so it didn’t take long for Cinna to stop at the end. Frisk was close behind. And since Undyne didn’t have her heavy armor today to sneak around better, she had been able to catch up.

“Hang on, it’ll be okay,” Frisk called, being closer to him.

“Hold it, you’d better come back...” Undyne started to order, probably expecting the kid at least to comply.

They looked back to her and Becca was terrified enough that she jumped out of Cinna’s body briefly. She had a pale ragged dress and her brown hair hanging down in a messy way. Cinna collapsed under her. Before either Frisk or Undyne could react, she screamed so powerfully that the sound attack could be clearly detected on the computer screen. It radiated in all directions, damaging the walkway so severely that it disintegrated and dropped them straight onto the Abyssal Lake.

“Oh shit, at that height,” Alphys said.

Time rewound.

She asked the lab computer to translate the unusual text, having an odd feeling that she’d just done so.

* * *

Cinna had just died, hitting the lake far too hard. Now Sans found himself standing in the mural hall with Cinna and Frisk nearby. Normally he just had a sense for when Frisk affected time, maybe an idea of why. Like at the bridge fight, he knew Papyrus was simply too strong for Frisk to survive more than one hit. But he couldn’t remember the failed battles themselves. This time, he remembered it. He’d cut off the longer walkway so they could catch up to the kid sooner. Then the ghost managed to destroy the walkway, dropping them onto the lake. Undyne could survive the dive; Frisk could too as he reflexively cast a spell to slow his fall. Cinna couldn’t and Frisk moved back time.

“So it isn’t more history?” Cinna asked.

“No, it isn’t,” Frisk said, glancing back at them. “We have to be careful.”

“Right,” Sans said. “The walkways that way aren’t very good. We’re better off going back down to reach another way forward.”

“That’d be good,” he said. “You know?”

“More than usual,” he said, winking like it was a joke.

“Don’t want to go,” Becca said, then ran off upwards.

This time, Sans tried to wait further down the shorter walkway, blocking the way. Cinna ran down the longer walkway, a shadowy trail coming off his ears. Probably part of the possession. Not wanting to see another rewind, he warped in the middle of the longer walkway, just far enough that the kid shouldn’t be able to see him phase in. Cinna was still going fast, so he skidded to a stop on seeing him. Sans held his hands up, planning on saying something.

But Cinna closed his eyes and screamed powerfully. The pulses of magical energy were tightly packed with hardly any space to slip by safely. Too close; he got clipped and was defeated in seconds.

Time rewound.

“So it isn't more history?” Cinna asked, not noticing that he was asking it a third time.

“No, it's complicated,” Frisk said, putting a hand to his chest. His movements were slow and weary. “Sans?”

“What's the matter?” he asked, though it was pretty clear what the problem was. Why didn't he just rewind back to the previous night and redo today? That could fix some problems.

But just as Sans thought that, Frisk gave a reason why not. “It's,” he snapped his fingers, “it's a real struggle to go backwards at this point, not without pushing too hard and going back about six years to my usual wall. Maybe it's just that I'm too tired to be doing this right.”

“Go backwards how?” Cinna asked, although his own posture was tense. Becca was going to bolt any time now, once again.

Frisk ignored that for a moment, waving down the hall. “She likes drama, right? I'm gonna take a risk and use a sleep enchantment. You take them off to the safe place, then hopefully she'll just capture me for now. Might have to break out of wherever I end up, but I'll be alert enough to work through that or just return here. That work?”

The main way those instructions made sense was if he meant to put Cinna and Becca to sleep so they could be whisked away without her panicking. “As long as you can manage the enchantment like this, sounds fine by me,” Sans said.

After nodding, he then then called out his chronograph. Which, for some reason, had a piece of a golden one drifting by it. “Oh, and I just had a feeling, is this yours?” He called the fragment away and offered it.

It looked right. “Yeah, what're you doing with it?” Sans called his chronograph out and took the fragment. There was a clear edge where the cracks met. Bringing them close was enough to fuse it back. Although, there was a third chunk of it still missing with thin cracks all across the clock face in the middle.

“Found it in the Ruins, we'll talk more about it later,” Frisk said. “Ready?”

“What's going on?” Becca asked warily. But Sans nodded.

Time rewound.


	21. Lost Night

“So it isn't more history?”

“Afraid not,” Frisk said, looking to the kid. Even tired, he was able to quickly put together the spell he wanted. “Sorry Cinna.” A white haze surrounded the rabbit's head for a second and caused him to fall asleep on his feet instantly. “But that look in your eyes makes me worried that you'll hurt yourself.”

“We can't have that happening,” Sans said. When he'd said that he remembered things, Frisk had felt a reaction from his chronograph and the partial one. His search for the golden chronograph was solved, although it was a futile search given that it belonged to Sans. No matter, Frisk didn't want to take it from him now. But maybe he'd help figure out where the last portion of it was.

Right then, Undyne decided to come out of hiding. She didn't have an energy spear active, nor the black armor she often wore. “What are you doing with that kid?” she demanded in a serious tone.

“He's possessed by an emotionally unstable ghost,” Frisk said, hoping that the straight truth worked. “We have to keep them calm and watched over as much as possible until we have the proper circumstances for an exorcism.”

“Is that really true?” Undyne asked, glancing at Sans. “Seems intriguing, if outlandish.”

“Just look at the kid yourself,” Sans said. “He doesn't have green eyes out of jealousy. That's the sign of a human soul clinging to his.”

It was obvious on his soul too, Frisk thought. Undyne still asked Sans, “And just what are you doing here chatting with the human?”

“I’m only here to get the kid to a safe place his parents approved of, so of course I had to talk to the human first,” Sans replied.

“Right, you'd better take him now,” Frisk said. “He should keep asleep for, well,” he checked on how far his enchantment had taken hold, “six to eight hours. Good, I was worried I’d overdo it when I'm tired like this,” he rubbed his head and let himself yawn. It made him feel even more tired himself, but that should help.

“Then I’ll be leaving the human to you,” Sans said, going over to take Cinna's hand. Even though the rabbit was asleep, he walked automatically when Sans tugged him into a side tunnel to warp away with him.

“You're Undyne, right?” Frisk asked, turning around to sit with his back to the wall. She still looked strong and intimidating, but again, she wasn't as nightmarish as he remembered. No spikes, for one thing. And she was muddy with bits of grass stuck in her red hair. While she must have followed them most of the day, she didn't look a bit tired. “Head of the Royal Guard as I heard.”

“Yes, that's me,” she said, ready to attack if he made a false move.. “I could see Cinna was having trouble, but if you wanted him looked after, you should've brought him home instead of drug him out here.”

He shook his head. “It was more like he drug me out here. I did not expect that keeping up with a kid would be so tiring. Anyhow, he's mad at his sister so he refused to go home, and then the ghost possessing him is terrified of monsters after getting killed by one. She got nervous the moment Sans showed up.”

“I’m going to be checking out those stories of yours,” Undyne said sternly. She glanced around, then sighed. “Sheesh, this is nothing like what I expected a confrontation with a human to be like. There's no glory in defeating someone tired enough to be yawning.”

Relieved that this worked, Frisk smiled. “Ah good, I really didn't want to be fighting you. After all that Alphys has said about you, I have no desire to be doing that even at full strength.” Well, more his own memories, but the point still stood.

However, this had the effect of Undyne nearly summoning a spear. She did narrow her eyes down at him. “What do you want with Alphys?” she asked with a dangerous edge to her words.

He had a feeling that any monster who faced that expression might flinch. Frisk just turned serious. “I never meant to deceive her about what I was, although I should've told her sooner. It's just, I heard about what Asgore has been doing and knew I had to be cautious. You know about peer reviews?”

“Yeah, where other fighters watch what you're doing and tell you how you suck in order to know where to improve,” she said.

“Something like that,” Frisk said. “Among humans, it's important among researchers of all kinds to have someone of a similar knowledge review experiments, papers, and such. To see what might've gone wrong, to point out a missed factor, yeah, where you suck so you know where to improve. Well Alphys happens to be the sole living peer who knows enough about the barrier to check over my methods on how to break the seven locks on it. You know how much power is involved with trying to manipulate the barrier directly? If I don't get a proper peer review, the effort might kill me with the barrier only partially undone. That's why I’m relying on her, and the sooner I can start working with her in person, the better.”

While she did lighten up on the death glare, Undyne wasn't happy with this. “Fine, we'll go talk with her. But I will be watching and if you dare hurt her, I will not forgive you even if you can break the barrier.” Then she sighed. “And man, I was hoping that the task would require some action and a dramatic duel between us. Not this nerdy method.”

“Well if the nerdy method works, nobody will have to get hurt and you'll all be free to leave the underground,” he said.

“As long as it works,” Undyne said. “Well get up, you're under arrest and all until I’m sure your word is good. And as long as you don't breathe a word about its location, I can get you to a secret elevator that'll get us to the lab. It's only supposed to be used for official business, but since I’m transporting a prisoner, that counts.”

“I’ll accept that arrest,” Frisk said, getting back on his feet. “Especially if it gets me somewhere I can sleep decently.”

* * *

 Undyne wasn't used to people accepting that they were arrested, much less with the gratitude like Frisk showed. Though he was tired, which proved that he probably was a nerd like Alphys since all he'd done was walk down the corridors of Waterfall all day and use some sleep enchantment. This human didn't have physical strength or endurance. She wanted to know if he could use the Delta Rune like the wizard in that one manga series. If Frisk could, that would lead to some epic battles even if he was a nerd.

At the lab, Alphys already had a room prepared with an electrical forcefield. Frisk agreed to go inside, but he wanted to pass over some information first. “The book I told you about was from the city on the surface,” he said as they were waiting on the files to transfer to the lab computers. “The files I’m sending you are about the locks themselves as well as their solutions. From the data, I know I can undo the locks but it might not be safe even for me. I was hoping you could check over it for me.”

“Sure, we can talk about it tomorrow,” Alphys said.

“Couldn’t one of us handle the barrier locks?” Undyne said. It didn’t feel right to have to leave this task up to the human.

Frisk shrugged. “You'd need me to make the locks appear, but Alphys would know better if any of you could solve them.”

Undyne hoped so. While Alphys went back to the main room to start her peer review, she checked around the room Frisk was locked in. They didn't want him escaping. The forcefield covered three of the walls. If he tried busting out the unguarded wall, he'd end up over a drop into lava so that was secure. Undyne could see a way to dismantle the forcefield, but that required someone outside it so that should be fine. There weren't any vent openings large enough in there for him to crawl through. Although, if he could transform himself into a small form, he might be able to get out what vents were there (if he could also get near the ceiling while small).

Since he had come peacefully, they'd let him keep what he had. He brought out some things in order to make himself something to eat. That made Undyne feel hungry, so once she was done inspecting the cell, she headed off to make some sandwiches for her and Alphys. Thankfully, Alphys was keeping a better stock of ingredients so if someone was making a meal around here, it wasn't always instant noodles.

She got into the main area to find Alphys at her computer, one hand scrolling down the pages and the other being used to rest her chin on. “Hey, I got us something to eat,” Undyne said, setting down the plate by her keyboard.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, glancing over and smiling. But her attention went back to the open file, which looked to be a scan of pages in a huge book. “We are going to need him because it takes a human to activate all this; I've only gotten through reading up on the first lock and it's intriguing.”

“What's it like?” Undyne asked. She was pretty sure she wouldn't understand fully, but it was nicer when Alphys was talking to her.

“Well,” she took a moment to think it over, taking her chin off her hand so she could trace her fingers through an idea. “The barrier's like a curtain going in, like a wall trying to go out. There was a part more about that, but I wanted to see the locks first. So, it's like, flat, only takes up so much space? But when the lock's summoned out, it changes the space to something bigger. Like, that first lock is sort of a pipe maze where you've got a marble and there's all sorts of buttons in the pipes that have to be activated by running the marble over them. But only a certain combination of buttons will let the lock be undone. Run over the wrong one and the lock will dissolve, becoming unsolvable for the next hour. And the barrier will lash out at you for doing it wrong, so it will hurt to make mistakes.”

“Then you'd have to push it through the right path, that sounds simple,” she said.

“If you know the right path,” Alphys said. “Also, it's in a pipe, so you can't just push it directly. You could summon up little walls to block off wrong paths and then shift the maze itself to get the marble running. But then you'd have to maintain the walls, or be able to put them in place quickly while the marble's running. Simple when you know the unlocking path, but it would still take skill to undo. And see, here?” She pointed out a link to a text document. “The solution wasn't given directly. He had to deduce it from a multistage riddle in the first place, which I do need to double-check for him.”

“Why'd they make it so complex?” Undyne said. “I know they didn't want us to get out, but still, if even another human has to put in work and research to figure it all out, that's crazy.”

“I saw a reference to there being some actual device to break the barrier without picking all these locks. Frisk probably couldn't find that and had to do what he can.” She put her hand down and tapped her claws against the desk. “Making the locks appear will be a drain on his energy. I'll need to check on his magical ability myself to see what kind of effect it'll have. And if he has to solve these locks too, that's even more magic to be handling at once. He's really relying on me.”

“From what he told me, he's putting his life in your hands,” she said.

Alphys closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I hope I can do this right.”

Not wanting her to get too anxious, Undyne hugged her before she expected it, making her smile again. “Don't you worry about that, you'll do just fine. Besides, if he's done all the work for you figuring out the riddles to the locks or whatever, you just need to read over his stuff for now.”

“I thought you weren't about to trust a human,” Alphys said, looking up at her. For a moment, Undyne knew that she was grateful she hadn't hurt Frisk and hoped that she would come to accept him too.

Well, she could give the human a chance, for her sake. “As long as he doesn't hurt anybody, especially not you, I might trust him a little.”

* * *

 It felt astonishing how much he'd gotten done today. Also that Sans felt like some of it was worthwhile. Undyne had reluctantly captured Frisk instead of killing him, but that wasn't a threat to escalating what trouble the boy had. Cinna was somewhere safe with some good people and things were coming together to fix the possession at least. On his rounds of checking up on who he was responsible for as a judge, he found that most were trying, just like Frisk, to better themselves. Only the Mad Dummy didn't seem to care, but they were incapable of doing much and seemed satisfied to have the Royal Guard to fight with. There was still a lurking fear that it could all come undone, but Sans wanted to ignore it and found himself capable of doing so for most of the time.

Tonight, he had to finish up the reports to send to Raime. And tomorrow, he could go over to the lab to see what he could do to help out Alphys and Frisk. Especially on locating the other five souls and anyone they might have possessed. For tonight, though, he could relax some at home, or go see if Toriel wanted company. Either option sounded good.

There was one thing he wanted to check on at home, so Sans walked in to see about that first. A sweet smell wafted out as he did. Vanilla and fruit? And there was a bit of the usual pasta in there too, along with a woman's voice. Well that was just perfect; Toriel was over and it looked like she and Papyrus were busy at something in the kitchen.

“Oh my god, did you just use the front door properly again?!” Papyrus called from there. Toriel laughed at that. “What's going on with you?!”

“Evening Papyrus,” Sans called back with a cheeky wave. “Hey Tori. You're looking better.”

“Hello Sans,” she said cheerfully. “I’m still not quite back to myself yet, but I wanted to do something and your brother asked me about baking. We've just about got dinner done for us.”

“Sounds great,” he said.

“It will be, but you didn't answer the question!” Papyrus said. Although it was clear from his eyes that he was more happy than worried.

“We need to use it every now and then to make sure it hasn't gone doorment,” Sans replied.

“That is a horrible pun, worse than usual,” his brother said, shaking his head and going back to the kitchen.

“I don't know, I thought it was a-door-able,” Toriel said, making Papyrus groan.

“Well he thinks puns are an a-door-mination,” Sans said.

“You two are in-pun-sible,” Papyrus said. When they laughed, he hit his skull. “And now you've got me doing it, sheesh.”

“Puns aside, do you still have that one labyrinth book you got from the book fair a few years back?” Sans asked. “The one with the mystery author.”

He nodded. “Oh yeah, and I've managed to get a few of their other books too! They're up in my room.”

“I wanted to check on something, with any of those books,” Sans said.

“Sure, I’ll go get one,” Papyrus said, leaving the kitchen to go up to his room.

“What kind of mystery author are we talking about?” Toriel said curiously. “Someone who keeps to themselves?”

“Sort of,” he said, coming over to check on what they had going on in the kitchen. “They use a weird symbol for their name and I think I saw it somewhere aside from those books. Might be something, might not. Anyhow, if I’ve got you and my brother in the kitchen, I must be the luckiest guy in the underground.”

Although a little embarrassed, she laughed and patted his skull. “Well if I am helping you make a positive change in your life, I’m happy for you. What have you been doing today?”

“I got pulled on active duty as a judge,” he said, clasping her hand for a moment. Not long, though; it might be amusing to see how long it would take Papyrus to notice, if she hadn't said anything already. “Mostly that, but there was also getting Frisk safely by the current head of the Royal Guard. Undyne's a good woman, but she's relentless and supports Asgore. Then it got complicated when a kid around here ran off from home and followed Frisk through Waterfall.”

“How did that go?” Toriel asked, concerned about him.

“Well he got arrested, but overall that's about as safe as we could manage once Undyne got alerted to his presence,” Sans told her. “And he's over at the lab with Dr. Alphys, so she'll do what she can to convince Undyne to keep staying her hand.”

“He's good friends with the scientist, so he should be okay for now,” she said. “I’ll have to call him after supper.”

“He might call first. So what have you two been up to other than dinner?”

Toriel gestured to a glass trifle dish. “Once we started talking, Papyrus said that he wanted to make a giant cake sometime, something big enough to hide someone in. I had to object to putting someone in, but making a giant cake was an interesting idea. Somehow that got to me telling him how to make a pound cake, and then we made a trifle out of that. He is talented at this, though it's different working with him than with Frisk.”

“I'd imagine Frisk is more calculating,” Sans said. Especially with him having to reteach himself emotions.

She nodded. “Yes, he's careful and exact with all the steps, so I have to keep encouraging him to put more heart into his work. But Papyrus is all heart. It's enough that his magic can correct small mistakes in his methods. I'd think that anything the two of them worked on would turn out really well; it's unfortunate things didn't work out between them, though Papyrus doesn't seem troubled over it.”

“Frisk was doing his best to deal with it last night,” he said. “And I think today he was too distracted trying to watch over the kid and watch out for Undyne to really think about it.”

Noisy footsteps on the stairs caused them to hold off on their conversation as Papyrus came back with book in hand. “Here you go, I got the labyrinth one. Did you find out something about the writer? I've been wanting to talk to them again, but they show up at random to sell books and then vanish without a trace.”

“Just like at the fair, huh,” Sans said, checking the cover. And that symbol... yes, that was the one that Frisk had given a partial translation for. “Hmm, then the writer's name is Baphomet.”

“Oh right, that's what it was!” Papyrus said, snapping his fingers. “They told me and then I forgot about it a minute later somehow. They also said they were both a man and a woman.”

And a demon, possibly once a monster? Sans wondered if that was who owned Frisk's soul. But then tracking a demon down wasn't something he knew how to do. Neither was how to negotiate with one. There was also the question of why a demon would want to spread stories like this through the underground. He'd read it himself and it didn't seem like anything insidious.

Since he didn't have enough information to do anything about this writer, Sans kept it at the back of his mind and focused on enjoying this evening at home.

* * *

 It was a long walk from the lab in Hotland to the central area of Waterfall where most of its residents lived, and the ferry person was not answering the bell at the port. Since Mettaton didn't like to waste time, he shifted back to his box form. It wasn't half as glamorous as his human form (although quite attractive in its own way), but the box form had rockets. He could blast along the ferry's channel to cut down on the trip immensely. Once at the Waterfall port, it was a good stroll over to where Napstablook still lived.

Their droopy home was dim and nobody answered to a knock. Mettaton went over to the old snail farm in the next cavern over to see if his sibling was over there. And there they were, carefully cleaning up the snail pen. Sometimes, Mettaton thought about telling his fans about the truth of his beginnings. It could make for such a nice drama, rising up from a humble farm ghost into the greatest star to shine underground. But it was a lot of fun to keep them guessing by giving all sorts of origin stories to sort out.

“Heeelllooo Blooky!” he called with a shining grin now that he was back in human form. “How's it going down here?”

“Oh, hello Mettaton,” Napstablook said. Their voice had a worried tone in it, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. “Um, you know, as usual, mostly. There's, um, something.”

“What's that something?” he asked.

They put the rake aside and drifted out of the pen. “Listen, um, off that way.” They looked over towards one of the cave walls.

While that wall made for a good boundary to keep the snails safe, there were a few small holes in the wall that connected to other parts. The snails didn't make much noise and there were no visitors, so there was only the faint sound of moving water elsewhere. No, not just that today. Mettaton leaned on the fence post, just catching some sorrowful notes from a woman somewhere else in Waterfall.

A familiar voice. “Isn't that Shyren?” Mettaton asked. Her practice area was a good walk from the snail farm, but something about the way the caverns were formed let her music drift all the way down here. “You can barely hear her but she seems really tragic.”

“Um, she was sad for a long time, since her sister fell down,” Napstablook said. “She's been getting better. I hear her playing her piano sometimes in here. But, not singing so sad, not for a while. It made me cry for a while, but I don't know why she's sad now.”

“We should go check on her,” he suggested, knowing that his sibling might not go to check on their own even if Blooky was sympathetic. “There was a path up that way I could still take, right?”

“Mmhmm,” they replied, then gave a quick look over the farm to make sure there was nothing that could cause trouble. Once that was okay, they led Mettaton to one of the back ways to where Shyren stayed. “Um, sorry, if you were coming by to practice. It's been worrying me.”

“No problem, it's better to check this out,” Mettaton said. “And actually, I came here on behalf of Alphys. She wants your help with something.”

“H-huh, m-me?” Napstablook stammered, going a little slower along the wooden stairway for a moment. This path stretched over the mysterious lake below, lit by boxes with glowing mushrooms. There was something mystical to it all, one of the places that had inspired him years ago.

“Well she said I might be able to help, but you'd do better,” he said, wanting to encourage them to do more. He then explained about the kid who was possessed, how musical magic could help, and how it was the human from the Ruins who was the one to suggest them.

“Oh dear, I’m not sure how he thought of me,” Napstablook said, considering the matter. “But, it's nice he remembered. So, uh, you soothe this human ghost with a lullaby or something, and, um, then what? How are they gonna separate two spirits?”

“Beats me,” Mettaton admitted. “That's up to Alphys and the human. Come on, Blooky, I know you could do this. And it's a kid that's in trouble here, well two kids because the ghost seems like one too. They were both scared and upset, enough that the human had to put them asleep through magic so they could be taken somewhere safe.”

“Ooo, that's bad.” They looked down while drifting along. “I, um, I guess? I'll give it a try. I never purposely tried something like that. But if they know what they're doing, I’ll help how I can.”

“That's great!” he said, smiling and clapping his hands.

Not long after that, they arrived at the area where Shyren lived. Her song was strong here, enough to cause shivers in his circuits from how sorrowful she sounded. She was alone today, drifting around with her hair fluttering after her. However, something seemed different about her. Maybe it had been too long since he'd seen her. But that didn't quite explain it, especially not the pale blue afterglow that followed her.

“Uuuh, um, Shyren?” Napstablook asked, drifting over to her.

She turned around and looked at them with watery blue eyes. Wasn't that...? “Hello my dear, it's been years since we've talked,” Mettaton said, trying to be charming. But this feeling of sadness and being lost was reaching deep into his soul. “You seem blue.”

“I don't know why,” Shyren whispered, her voice shaky. “A-am I dead?”

“No, you look fine to me,” Napstablook said. “Um, except you do look sad. What's the matter?”

“I can't go home,” she said. No, that wasn't her voice.

“You are home?” Napstablook said uncertainly.

“Wait, I think this is something else,” Mettaton said. “This is like how the kid I was telling you about was.”

“Oh, a ghost has her?” they asked, looking carefully. “Oh no.”

“How long have you been feeling like this?” Mettaton asked.

“A long long...” the other voice started to say.

Then Shyren shook herself. “Four days,” she whispered. “Maybe. It was, a sad little light in the darkness. I felt sorry for her and tried to sing, but, then all that sadness came into me.”

“We should get you to the lab in Hotland too, to fix this along with the kid,” Mettaton said. “Although the ferry's still out. Mostly, I don't think they want the monsters with the ghosts to be left alone.”

“Too alone,” either Shyren or her ghost said.

“Um, well, you can come stay with me, um, if you want,” Napstablook said. “It's, um, late, but we can go to Hotland tomorrow.”

“You know how to heal her sadness?” Shyren asked, coming closer to them.

“We're not sure, but we know someone who knows,” Napstablook explained.

Shyren nodded and followed them back. Well that was another lost soul found, Mettaton thought. Where would the others be? Alphys and Asgore didn't want to alert the crazies about this situation, but with his connections, maybe he could find some clues about the others.

* * *

 “Stupid stupid Frisk,” Flowey muttered, slowly cracking through a rock with his roots. “Stupid boring Frisk. You think you're so good, huh? You think you can absolve your sins, huh? If I had any power anymore, I’d make sure to punish you properly.”

“You think power will solve your problems?” someone asked him.

He was frustrated enough that he scowled and threw aside a part of the rock he'd broken off. It made a pitiful little tap against the ground because flowers weren't that strong. “God no! He came back from nothing! He rebuilt himself from a point where he only had his determination going for him! I bet that if you take his chronograph away, he'll still stubbornly push his way forward and get the better of you. And even when I had power, it wouldn't let me do what I really wanted!”

“You mean going back a hundred years to fix things?

“What do you know about that?!” Flowey asked sharply, finally turned to see who was addressing him.

This monster... no, that was no monster. They spoke of this being as a demon. Baphomet seemed partly a goat, albeit mostly shaved to expose dark skin. They had a mix of male and female features, long curling horns, a neatly trimmed beard, a small chest, and curved hips. Currently, they were seated with their feet crossed in front of them. “Something, perhaps,” Baphomet said.

“Are you really what they were talking about, a monster that absorbed seven human souls to become a god?” Flowey asked, feeling jealous. If he could figure out the demon's secret, he'd listen.

“That story was from a long time ago,” they said.

“Did you have something to do with all this?” Flowey asked.

“Perhaps. I mostly enable people to do things; what happens is of their volition.” They set their hands on their knees. “You as well.”

“Oh, so it's your fault then?!” He snarled, but what could he do? He wasn't good in a fight like this unless he was the one with the element of surprise.

“No, I just allowed some things to happen,” Baphomet said calmly. Perhaps they knew they were in no danger.

“But you still did something. What? Was it something back then, huh?! Did you not want any competition?”

“I've been looking for an apprentice,” they said. “You didn't do anything noteworthy.”

“Y-you...” Flowey shook in anger, but didn't dare make an attack. Damn it all, why was this happening to him? He already had to keep an eye on one stupidly powerful individual; he didn't need another mucking things up further.

Baphomet gazed down at him calmly. There wasn't a trace of a smug air to them even though they probably had every right to be. “But you still have potential, I think, if you can throw off the cautious fear that's constraining you. Otherwise, you'll continue to be ineffectual. What do you think of Frisk?”

“I hate him,” Flowey hissed. “He got rid of Chara and left only her shadow behind. I never got a chance to talk to her then! And then, he's getting away with making everyone think he's good, when he's not. He's evil; he can't be rid of the evil in his heart. And just look at what happened yesterday! I thought I was going to love it all, getting Undyne pissed off at him and all the rewinding he had to do while he was tired. But then he got Undyne of all people to pity him and call off a fight because he was tired, that's all! She brought him exactly where he wanted to be and he acts like this is what he wanted to happen. That is so wrong, I hate it all!”

Finally showing some emotion, Baphomet smirked. “Would you like to make that undone?”

* * *

 “Howdy! Want to hear something interesting?'

Catclaw's ears and whiskers twitched. Who was that? He hadn't heard anyone approach him, nor smelled them. But there was something chilling to that soul, familiar. This was another killer. Looking down towards the voice, he spotted a tiny yellow flower in a crack in the pavement that hadn't been there before. It even had a smiling face on it.

Releasing his claws, he reached down. It'd be easy to snip off its stem and snatch it up. “What reason do you have to bother me?”

The flower somehow ducked down into the crack so he missed. “Watch it! I could be your pal, right? Who's gonna notice a flower? I can get into all kinds of places, so I hear lots of things. Like, I know your name was B...”

He hissed, making his fur stand on end. “Don't. You. Dare. Say. That!”

“Well I don't blame you, it was pretty embarrassing,” the flower said, appearing in another crack. “But you're strong now, huh? Ain't nobody's gonna make fun of you now, or force you to do anything. Unless of course a judge gets to you.”

“I’ve killed two, I could kill another,” Catclaw said, exposing his teeth. “I could kill you, smash you into a yellow smear on the ground.”

“Y-yeah, but, you'd d-do better to make me an ally,” the flower said, its bravado nearly breaking. “Cause I know how you could make yourself stronger. It'd be a real easy-peasy task too, for you.”

Listening to flowers was a stupid idea most of the time. But, there was the fact that this one had a higher LOVE than he did, meaning there was more to Flowey than first appeared. Catclaw listened and it was something he hadn't been sure about. It made sense now. Especially now, it would be an easy thing to do. Another human would die. But if it made him(her) much more powerful than s/he was now, it would be worth it.

And this had to be done soon, before the meathead with Snowdrake or the lunatic with Asgore caught on to the chance.

It required sneaking into the lab in Hotland where the Royal Scientist lived. But the door automatically opened as he approached and the lights weren't on. While the place was large, Flowey had given him good directions. There was an electric forcefield that was easily broken from the generator in the hall. No one had stopped him yet; no one stopped him from approaching the captive human.

One of the first things that caught Catclaw's attention was that the boy wore a rosary necklace even though he was fast asleep in bed. There was something about it that reminded him of the judge magic; it made the nerves of his whiskers crawl, reminded him of the pain he inflicted on others. But he had to kill him swiftly and the neck was a vulnerable spot.

It'd be over quick, just do it.

Time rewound.


	22. Abyssal Lake

Frisk reached for his neck, feeling like something had sliced across it. His mind felt fuzzy with dreams, sharply shaken awake. What was going on? He was crouched on a rocky surface. His vision was blurry, but there was a picture of an unsettling creature and ancient text. Wasn’t that from Waterfall? As his mind cleared up, he realized it was the wrong time. Time had been reversed while he was asleep. How…? Wait, his neck. Somebody had killed him.

There was a thump on the ground nearby. He looked over and Cinna had collapsed from the sleep enchantment. Briefly, Frisk wondered how that had persisted.

“What just happened?” Sans asked tensely.

“Hold it right there!” Undyne yelled, making Frisk’s blood turn cold. “What did you do to him?!” A blue glint appeared on the ground underneath him.

Frisk got up and bolted from the spot on reflex, just avoiding being skewered by a magical spear. He kept running up the stairs and onto the walkways. As Sans would take care of Cinna, he only had to worry about himself. How was he going to handle this now? She was in a mood for battle and he didn’t want to fight her. Perhaps if he held out long enough, there might be a chance to talk again.

As he had to pick directions in seconds, Frisk ended up on the higher shorter path. A line of blue caused him to stop before he got impaled. Blue torches at the side lit the area, but most of the space around them was dark. A ray of sunlight stretched out somewhere, along with some distant blue glows. More immediate to his concerns, Undyne had him blocked off and was furious.

“Hang on, ple...”Frisk said, holding up his hands.

“You are not getting any mercy from me,” Undyne said sharply. “You won’t be able to trouble that kid anymore, or any other monsters.”

“I’m not out to cause trouble,” he said.

“You've caused all kinds of trouble already,” she said. “You shouldn’t have messed with that boy. There’s only one way for you to be doing good around here and that’s for you to die! Everyone’s been waiting on our chance at freedom and your soul is the last we need to grant that dream! I am not letting you get away.”

“You don’t understand, if I can just get to Alphys,” Frisk said, scrambling for ideas. This wasn’t easy to deal with when he’d just woken up from dying.

Undyne’s eyes glared like daggers right before she threw a fist down. Dozens of spears smashed onto the walkway, making it shudder. “I am not going to let you put her in danger, or anyone else! Don’t try to play innocent, I can see that you’re a dangerous person! I will stop you right here, right now.” With that, she threw another rain of spears at him.

Bracing himself, Frisk knew he needed a magical shield to block those spears. Undyne was strong, perhaps enough the cut through his cloak. Then there was a loud crack of wood and he found himself falling with the broken walkway. As this was a long fall onto water, he changed his spell to Featherfall combined with a water walking adaption. The walkway disappeared into the darkness and splashed noisily below; the enchantment caused a soft glow of magic around his feet.

After a moment, he caught sight of a flash of red hair passing by him. Undyne splashed down and Frisk considered rewinding. She could be at an even greater advantage down here. Still, he decided to try this. Frisk slowed down as he approached the surface of the lake. The torches that had lit the way were extinguished in the lake, leaving them in near total darkness. As the enchantment glow wasn’t enough to see by, he sent light orbs out for illumination.

Undyne surfaced nearby. “This isn’t going to slow me down at all! This is for the hopes and dreams of all monsters! Ngaaaaahhh!” She smacked a hand against the glassy water, causing another wave of spears to encircle him. His cloak blunted a lot of the blow, but he still had to shift the core of his soul quickly to avoid a deadly blow.

Didn’t she usually put a green enchantment on him that let him deflect the spears? He wasn’t sure why; maybe she just wanted an extra challenge. Frisk summoned his own shield as Undyne dove beneath the water. Spears came up from underneath him, much like he’d fallen to in fighting Papyrus. This time, he used the shield to make sure none got to him. Undyne tried swim behind him, but he could turn to keep an eye on her.

Unfortunately, she kept underwater so he couldn’t try talking. It helped that his shield was his own so she couldn’t dismiss it. After several rounds, Undyne dove deeper into the lake, to get out of his sight since his lights would make him visible to her. If he looked for her magic, he could still find her. Even target her with a spell. But he didn’t want to attack her. He kept alert to where her spears came from and continued blocking.

This kept up for fifteen minutes. Then she resurfaced in the illuminated area. “What the hell are you humans made of?!” she asked in frustration. “Anyone else would be dead by now!”

If she actually hit him again, she might kill him. He’d used a healing spell, but her spears were strong enough to shatter his soul. “I’m hanging on until you give me a chance to talk,” Frisk told her, keeping his voice calm.

Undyne hesitated for a second, but then made herself keep angry. “You don’t deserve that, coward. Are you just going to keep defending? Well it won’t help because I will not give up! I know what you are! You’re a high ranking wizard, a summoner.”

“How do you know that?” he asked. In his studies so far, he found that monsters ranked magical skill differently than humans.

“Your cloak gives it away because you wear the Delta Rune on it,” Undyne said, pointing at him. “Come on, show me what you can really do!”

Maybe he could show her, impress her without hurting her. Recalling the previous night, that Papyrus had been in awe just because he could use lots of colors in magic, he figured that it had to be made flashy. That was fine since conflicts between human wizards were meant to be flashy rather than actual battles. He knew what to do.

She wants me dead, but I won’t hurt her. LOVE 8 > LOVE 7

* * *

 Mettaton pulled up a chair to watch Undyne fighting Frisk. Her heart racing, Alphys scrambled to find a mobile camera to follow them down to the lake’s surface. When she got it to their level, they only saw Frisk standing on the water with orbs of light illuminating the area. Some bright blue spears shot up from the darker parts of the water, revealing where Undyne was.

“Is he maintaining all those enchantments?” Mettaton asked.

Alphys glanced around. He had to be using whatever was keeping him on top of the lake. While Undyne knew a lighting spell, it didn’t look like those faintly pink spheres of glass. And her shields were not red like what Frisk had. “Seems like it,” she said. “Though you can handle that many enchantments at once.”

He shook his head. “Well that’s showy things like sparkles, not something that can keep me standing on water like that. I thought humans were mostly powerful physically, but they must be magically powerful too.”

“It was humans who created the barrier,” Alphys reminded him. But it made her wonder. How much power was Frisk using? The mobile camera was one of the better ones, so she could ask the computer to run a scan on the area. A message box popped up as she did so, saying that it had been unable to decipher the strange text in the history hall. Another thing to talk to him about, provided he and Undyne got to settle this peacefully. When the computer asked if she wanted to scan all people in range, she went ahead and picked ‘yes’.

“Yes, but he looked tired a few minutes ago,” Mettaton pointed out. “He wasn't as smooth while the walkway was up, yet he seems alert now.”

“That is kind of odd,” she said.

When the computer was done analyzing the incoming feed, Alphys checked Undyne’s stats first. Alphys had to make up her own terms for quantifying determination, coming up with a twenty point scale for monsters. She knew living humans would be beyond that scale, but it worked for measurements down here. Asgore was the highest score she’d gotten in her various scans; he ranged from 15 to 17, but she’d predicted he could push himself straight up to 20 without issue.

Undyne currently had a determination of 17. Her predicted range came up as 15 to 20. How was that? Alphys had figured out that a human’s determination was responsible for how their souls remained after death. By that, Asgore should have the highest possible determination in the underground because a royal monster like him could persist after death for a few seconds. But, Undyne had that much? Then Frisk… the computer gave an error message again, ‘DT levels above 99 cannot be measured with this equipment’.

“So humans really are far beyond us in terms of determination, at least,” Alphys said to herself.

“What about magic?” Mettaton asked.

“It looks like any monster could use the spells he’s using,” she said. The computer had automatically split up the three spells. “The water walking one would be hard, and using all three at once would wear out anyone who hasn’t trained up their magic skills. On the other hand, it looks like he isn’t breaking a sweat over it, so to speak.” There was a curious anomaly: it looked as though he’d been awoken abruptly in the past half hour. But, how was that possible?

While she was saving the data for later reference, Undyne finally came back above the water. She challenged Frisk to show her what he was really capable of. Mettaton watched with silent anticipation while Alphys caught herself holding her breath. Then a number changed. Frisk’s LOVE went from 8 to 7. Some shift was occurring in his soul to decrease his capacity for violence. Now?

It was even stranger when he spoke next. “Very well, if you must know,” he said, bringing a fist up to his chest. A bright red glow appeared there, then surrounded him like when manga characters were said to be charging their aura.

And it didn’t stay red. It shifted to orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, back to red, all in smooth progression as a white circle appeared on the surface of the lake below him. The water began to ripple in the wake of power; red marks dashed across to form three triangles pointed down supporting a circle with wings. This Delta Rune was large, probably eight feet in length. Frisk brought his other hand up to clasp his fist and bowed his head, causing multicolored shimmers in his aura. In front of him, Undyne was treading on the surface, watching with rapt attention.

“What’s he doing?” Alphys mumbled. He must not want to hurt her from the way his LOVE went down. It was clear that he was powerful to have that kind of effect, but what did this prove?

Then Frisk raised his head and one hand. “Spirits of the world, heed my call. From the depths of Abyssal Lake, I call forth,” he then dropped to his knees and smashed his fist into the water, causing an even bigger disturbance, “Doppelganger!”

That manga was right, a human allowed to wear the Delta Rune was a summoner! Water rose up and began to take a different form. Blue-green scales, long red hair in a ponytail, with exactly the same tank top and pants that she was wearing: he’d summoned up a mirror image of Undyne. Around the doppelganger’s shoulders, red lines appeared that were called back to Frisk’s hands. And the stats from that spell clearly indicated that no monster could manage that.

“Oh yes, that was a glorious display!” Mettaton said, excited to see how this was going. “Wish I could pull that off; it took me a lot of work to figure out the multicolor confetti and that has cheats going with it.”

Alphys nodded, knowing that secret of his. Behind her, someone said, “Since you’re cheating, doesn’t that make it con-fetti?”

“Oo, I’m going to have to remember that one,” Mettaton said, glancing back with her. It was Sans.

“When did you get in here?” Alphys asked, trying to cover up her surprise.

“When I got here,” Sans replied. “Got Cinna dropped off, so I came over to see how the human was doing.”

“Well, he got in a fight with Undyne and they fell onto Abyssal Lake,” she said, turning back to shift some of the stat screens away. “Fortunately, I had a camera I could send down there, and he’s got it lit up so we can keep an eye on them.”

“Now he’s got some mirror Undyne out battling with the real Undyne, it’s magnificent,” Mettaton said. “Definitely have to use that kind of plot myself in a future show, the audience would love it.”

“And down to 7, good,” Sans said, having checked on the data.

“Is that normal?” Alphys asked him. “I thought LOVE was supposed to go down by not fighting, but it dropped right before he summoned the doppelganger.”

“Intentions can affect that, so he’s not doing this to hurt her,” he explained. “A few attacks and she will have to realize that.”

“I hope so,” she said.

* * *

 He wanted to see if she could defeat herself? Undyne couldn’t stop herself from grinning at the thought. She could defeat anyone, even herself! Diving back under the water, she shifted her focus to this doppelganger. It darted after her and sent a wave of spears to surround her. They even came from above and below, forcing her to swim diagonally out of the attack. Shifting so she could keep an eye on the copy, she brought up her own shield before throwing dozens of spears back at it.

It dodged her spears as well and swam right for her. So that was how it was going to be, huh? Undyne rushed at it to bash with her shield. It got hit hard, but didn’t flinch. In fact, its eyes were emotionless, without soul. She punched the doppelganger; it grabbed her arm and she had to wrestle with it. It had a lot of power from Frisk… no, that was his power, just in her image. If she knew how to do this, it would be the ultimate training regiment.

Except, there was one problem with that. The doppelganger wasn’t actually hurting her; it wouldn’t even leave a bruise. It looked like it had skills to match her own, even the strings of reverse spears. Why did it only have the punch of a wet paper bag then? Unless... did he really not want to hurt her? Was Frisk holding back? He obviously had power to make his summoning so vibrant. This was like fighting Asgore, who had blinding fireballs that hit like warm muffins. That didn’t make sense when he had a LOVE of 8.

No wait, he was currently LOVE 7. He’d gone down while fighting her? Undyne swam away from her doppelganger and spent a moment treading there in the dark waters. The copy stopped attacking, watching her back. When she threw a single strong spear at it, it blocked and then retaliated with the same attack, just once. She let it hit and it was more like someone had thrown a pen at her in playing a game, wanting to show off in a friendly manner.

Things were not adding up. As much as she wanted to get the seventh human soul that would set monsters free, if he really was trying to be good, Undyne didn’t feel comfortable killing him. It didn’t explain why Cinna had suddenly collapsed, nor why Frisk was this corrupted in the first place, nor why Sans had been there talking to him. Though, maybe the second and third points were related. Sighing, Undyne dismissed her shield and swam back up to speak to him. This battle had promise at the start, even more when they got dropped down into the lake. But it might end with just talking.

The doppelganger followed her up; neither it nor he made a move to attack her. But his lights faltered, the spell disrupted. An extra line of magic dropped into the water and raced right to her, a cold shadow that seemed nothing like the harmless copy here. Although she resummoned her shield, the thing cut right through it and tried to pierce her soul. It was a tiny black heart with fragmented spindly arms. Its line back to Frisk was a chain; was it captive to him? Or, him captive to it?

Whichever it was, the corrupt soul was trying to capture her as well. Undyne gritted her teeth and sent a flurry of tiny sharp spears at it. It was so close that her own spears hurt her, but it worked. Shrieking in hate, the thing grew claws and tried to attack. The chain was quaking and taunt, both sides struggling against each other. The doppelganger even grabbed the chain and tried to pull it away from her. Perhaps…

Undyne thought back to her early days of training under Asgore, times when he’d made her listen to lectures from the judge sisters Raime and Sohla. She’d thought they were both pains at the time, but they did all they could to keep peace in the underground. They had taught her that evil could take on a life on its own, to a point where magic passed down from angels was required to defeat it. As she wanted to be a heroine, Undyne had tolerated them until she could learn one of those spells for herself. They were more draining than similar spells, but they worked against evil that normal magic couldn’t touch.

If she was to figure out the truth of this situation, even help someone overcome their own evil, getting rid of this corrupt soul so she could talk to Frisk was something she had to do. Undyne called on holy versions of her spears to tear the chain near her to shreds. Alphys hadn’t wanted her to hurt him, so for her sake… with all of the love she had for her… Undyne brought out the single strong spear with holy magic and pierced through the black heart herself. It shattered and ceased to exist.

There was a crash of water above her as the light orbs went out and the doppelganger vanished. Could Frisk swim? Undyne rushed his way, following the strong red feeling of his soul to locate him in the dark. He was stunned motionless and sinking, so she grabbed him and brought him back out. Overcome with fear, Frisk clung onto her while he coughed and gasped for air. Undyne went ahead and called out a single orb of green light to illuminate the area. Hopefully that made him more comfortable.

As he was calming down, Frisk asked, “Why….you saved me?”

“I know, it’s weird,” she said. “But you weren’t trying to hurt me even though I said I was going to kill you. Why is that?”

He smiled at that. “Alphys is my friend and I’m not about to hurt someone she loves so much. She talks about you all the time on Undernet, so I didn't want to fight you. Besides, you were only doing what you believed was right. I just had to survive long enough that you questioned it.”

“Well, she really doesn’t want me to hurt you,” Undyne admitted. “Fine, but what the hell was that black heart thing?”

“Give me a moment,” he said, letting go of her with one hand and casting the spell that let him get on top of the water again. Undyne made sure to keep a good grip on him until he could pull himself back up to sit on the lake. Once there, he touched the necklace he wore and looked immensely relieved. “That was a hateful spirit that’s been haunting me for a very long time. It was feeding off my soul’s corruption to keep itself existing. But, it’s no longer there. Papyrus wrecked it badly the other day, and it seems like you destroyed it entirely. Thank you, Undyne, I was unable to do that myself.”

So she’d not only saved his life, but his soul as well? Undyne grinned. “Hey, no problem. I knew the thing was bad news the moment I saw it.”

“Something doesn’t seem quite right, though,” Frisk said. “I thought it had claim to my soul, but...”

“That wretched creature belonged to me,” a strange voice said from nearby, making him tense. “It lost its original identity, so it was bound to be destroyed.”

“Who are you?” Undyne called, trying to detect the magic of this new person. But it didn’t look like anything she had ever seen before.

Ignoring her, they said, “Hmm, Frisk, so you not only accomplished my first test, but you managed to remember it? And you wouldn’t take it for yourself. Very well, I’ll start off your second test. See you later.”

An unsettling distortion and displacement filled Undyne’s soul as the lake around them suddenly vanished. She and Frisk landed in a much better lit cavern in Waterfall, close to the path to Hotland. The place was familiar, and the situation… no, how could it be?

This was a scene from her nightmares.

The remnant caused by my sins is gone, along with its influence. But my soul still isn’t my own? LOVE 7 > LOVE 6

* * *

 Once again, there were two of Undyne in the area. But, the second one wasn’t under his control this time. She was also more familiar to Frisk than the Undyne beside him. She wore spiked black armor with a silver heart on the front. More telling, there was a peculiar quality to her soul that made her look different than normal monsters. The body that her magic created was crumbling apart, kept together by sheer force of will. Her left eye shone with power.

Along with the two Undynes, there were two of himself. Frisk felt a chill on seeing his past self. That was a ten-year-old boy corrupted so thoroughly that he did not look human. His black student cloak was dusty in spite of being new; demonic patterns appeared on his face and soul. His skin had a strange yellow hue too. With hands like claws and feral eyes filled with a mad thrill, his other self was horrifying.

The moment was frozen; droplets of water hung still in the air near the Undyne by him. Frisk could feel a strong distortion to this space, much like the gray area of Snowdin he’d found in the Ruins. Glancing around, he spotted the crack they’d been tossed in, leading back to Abyssal Lake. That was an escape for when time started moving and they could get back to their proper time.

Then his tablet chimed with a message. Time wasn’t moving, so who could message him here? Frisk brought it out and found that strange name again, Ossien G.. ‘there’s a major distortion in waterfall. you’ve hit a nightmare on the fringe here. you can escape but this nightmare will remain until both are saved. you’re safe if you’re truly fighting to protect someone else, so please try.’

‘Okay’ Frisk messaged in reply, then tucked his tablet away. Thank goodness its protective case held through that dunk in the lake. He’d felt a brush of the magic that Undyne had used to attack the remnant; its destruction was such a shock that all of his active spells got disrupted. If she hadn’t gotten him above water so fast, he would have been forced to reset for being unable to swim. She’d not only gotten rid of the remnant, but kept him from accidentally undoing her deed.

Once he got the tablet put away, time restarted with a storm of spears from the undying Undyne. His corrupt self tore energy straight from her soul in order to heal himself, momentarily making part of her torso fuzzy before she pulled herself together again. Beside him, the regular Undyne stayed crouching on the ground. “This is...” she mumbled.

Would she believe him? “This is who I was,” Frisk told her. “Who you could be.”

“It’s straight out of my nightmares,” she said, standing up.

“Let’s help her,” Frisk said, already thinking. That energy stealing spell was dangerous, so Frisk altered a shielding spell to guard against it, then put it on himself and the two Undynes.

That got the attention of both of them. His younger self got a creepy smile as he clenched a fist and caused earthen spikes to erupt from the ground. Even with the extra shield, it ended up killing him. But that let him immediately counter the spell when he recovered. There was a lot of power behind that magic. Looking at it now, Frisk saw that there wasn’t a lot of skill. The edges of the spikes were blurry and the aiming was imprecise. Even the weaker monsters had clearer spells than him.

The armored Undyne called on a rapid-fire storm of spears, likely trying to distract him from them. The regular Undyne tried to mimic her, but could not match the power, speed, or ferocity of herself pushed beyond her limits. Even so, the extra attacks broke the rhythm and made it harder for his younger self to block all the spears. But he was not dying in one or two shots like his current self was; his emotional detachment was enough that he could endure more.

Was it really okay for him to be attacking here? The armored Undyne was greatly damaged, so Frisk decided his next move should be to heal her. What was that one he had used on Toriel again? Anything else he knew was meant for small injuries, not something trying to help a monster near death. His younger self tried firing a bolt of lightning right at the regular Undyne, but her other self got in the way.

No, he was going to save both of them! Frisk recalled the spell and cast it over her. While it still hurt him, it wasn’t the burning that would leave marks on his skin again. That gave her more time to block for them as she had a higher defense. He then attempted to boost the power of the regular Undyne’s spears. While the spell he knew for that was meant for humans, he had a good idea of what to alter in the casting for a monster. It put a red shimmer onto her attacks and made them almost matched.

His younger self lost the creepy smile and made the area seem even colder. He let up on trying to block for a moment to cast another spell. What now? Frisk closed his eyes and focused on reading the magic. Electric, ring based on caster, dual layer to fire inward out and outward in… he quickly copied the earthen spikes in order to block the red bolts from striking any of them. It blocked a few of the spears from striking too.

But it bought them enough time for dozens of spears to strike him. Frisk’s younger self tried to steal energy again, got blocked, and then got killed by the armored Undyne. Immediately, Frisk felt a strong pull at his chronograph. He couldn’t let his other self rewind time. Hoping this was just a dream and not something that could end up wiping him out of time completely, Frisk grasped the silver chronograph and did not let his younger self get a hold of it.

He felt a rage within himself. You’ve grown so weak, how pitiful! Come back to your true power, come back to me. No. Skill had won this battle, not power. And he had made his choice. He was going to be a better person.

The rage faded away and the struggle stopped. “I’m not going back to that,” Frisk said.

“I finally beat this nightmare?” the regular Undyne asked, stunned with awe. “That was incredible!”

The armored Undyne turned to them, her form turning fuzzy. “Yes,” she said, in a serious but weary tone. “Every time I won, he restarted the fight. Every time he won, he restarted the fight or went on and restarted even further back. I was caught here in this battle, never at rest and never able to truly win.”

“How do you restart a fight when someone died in it?” the regular Undyne asked.

“The simple answer is time travel,” Frisk said. “Could we leave it at that for now?” She didn’t seem like the kind of person who could follow a full explanation.

“Thanks for freeing me,” the armored Undyne said. Her skin was melting; her hands dripped onto the ground. “I can rest at last.”

“But, we won, what’s happening to you? Me?” the regular Undyne asked, looking to both of them.

“I was already dead when this battle began,” she said in calm acceptance. “Like he said, I am who you could be. But, you don’t want to be me, endlessly fighting a battle when even giving my all was not enough. You’re free of this nightmare now, but only if he can accomplish his goal. If he has to rewind time again...” she’d collapsed onto her knees now, or rather, onto the goo that had been her, “I’ll be back to start the nightmares all over again. Don’t let it...” then she finally disintegrated into dust.

“This space is breaking apart,” Frisk said, refreshing his Waterstance spell. “We should get out.”

“This is weird,” she said, but followed him out of the crack. He had to light up the area they were in again. “Then what is your goal?”

He sat back down again as she was back to treading water. “I’m taking the lost children back home. Since they haven’t been properly dealt with, their souls can’t find peace. I have to break the barrier for that to happen. And I have to check with Alphys to make sure I can break the barrier safely.”

She thought over that for a moment. “Well then… if you mean to break the barrier, I guess that works out. Was that creepy violent creature from my nightmares really you? I don’t remember anything like that happening, although those dreams seemed so real.”

Frisk nodded. “That was me. I’ve been living through about ten years repeatedly, turning time backwards when a certain event occurs. Early on, I let that power get to my head and did a lot of terrible things. You always tried to stop me. But I’m trying to live a better life, one where I won’t have to erase the ten years anymore.”

“You shouldn’t be able to just turn time backwards,” Undyne said. Then she grinned. “Whatever’s going on, you’ve certainly come a long way to have once been that.”

He smiled back. “Thanks. So then, how do we get back up from this lake?”

That made her frown. “Well, that is a problem. If we can find a scaffold for the lower walkways, they should have ladders to climb.” Then she glanced off to the left. “Or, listen.”

Looking that way, he only saw darkness. But he could hear someone singing cheerfully in that darkness. A minute later, a wooden boat came into the area he was illuminating, carrying a person who was completely hidden by a black cloak. “Hello there,” they sang. “Would you like to ride in my boat?”

“Do you know a way back up to Waterfall?” Frisk asked, realizing that this must be the ferry person he’d heard about.

They seemed to nod. “Yes, I was returning myself. Come aboard, come aboard, glad to have you along. Tra la la.”

“Thanks,” he said, hopping in. He turned to offer Undyne a hand up, but she managed to flip herself over the boat’s side herself.

“And off we go.” There were no oars, or any other visible means of propulsion, but the boat sped along the dark waters.

“What are you doing down here?” Undyne asked, leaning to twist the water out of her hair. “Lots of people have been worried about you.”

“Hmm, what are we doing down here?” the ferry person asked back, not singing it this time. “I love riding in my boat. Sometimes, I ride around down here in the mysterious dark. Lately, I’ve wondered, would others like to ride around the lake too? Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. The darkness is all encompassing; there’s nothing to see. What are you doing down here? The light beckoned me from afar, coming and going. But I hoped, and found you.”

“We fell down here,” Frisk said.

“There was some mess with spirits and nightmares, why the light came and went,” Undyne added.

“Mmmm.” It was a nervous sound, not like the soft cheery demeanor this person had had so far.

“Is something wrong?” she asked in concern. “I’ve never heard you like this before.”

“By nightmare, do you mean a time distortion?” the ferry person asked seriously.

“Yes, that’s what it was,” Frisk said. “It's supposedly on the fringe of something bigger.”

The ferry person nodded. “It is a scar on time itself, from many different wounds, many broken hearts. I had a hand in it. I think. In the swelling darkness, it is hard to know.”

“Do you have a chronograph?” he asked. He didn’t sense any magic like that around this person. They were almost a void, perhaps a shadow of their former self.

“Not any more,” they said. “When your power is vast, the consequences of failure are severe. Incomprehensible. Tell me, do you know who owns the golden chronograph?”

“That’s Sans,” Frisk said.

“If he is ready, I know where the last piece is.” Their cloak quivered. “You faced your sins just now, didn’t you? But that’s not the end of it for you. To find that last piece, he must face his.”

“Huh, what’s your connection to Sans?” Undyne asked.

“I don’t remember,” they said.


	23. Found Night

'Hey Catclaw!

For some reason, I thought I might not catch you online tonight. Well, whatever. We're ready to head up to the capitol tomorrow. But just now, one of the guys gave me a great idea. You know the Royal Scientist, Dr. Alphys? She's the one who kept poking and prodding at us that one time, plus she apparently did something monstrous to the mother of this monster I'm with. She was supposed to find a way to break the barrier and failed phenomenally at it. When the guy mentioned her, I felt like I should punch her in the face for all that. We ought to do something about her. Plus she's one of Asgore's supporters, so she'd be a good example.

Later!

Chilldrake'

Chilldrake was being too influenced by his monster host, Catclaw thought. Though she couldn't deny being influenced by hers as well. It was hard not to when she couldn't clearly remember her name. However, that last point was a good one. There were a good number of monsters who did not like Alphys and doing something to her was sure to rile up a lot of people.

And, wasn't she hiding the living human that was supposed to be underground now? Catclaw's ears flicked at the thought. Why did she think that? She couldn't recall where she'd seen or when she'd heard that information. But it seemed like it should be. Something about a strange flower, a strange necklace, and someone who had to be sacrificed strayed through her mind. Her host didn't remember any of that either.

Those displaced thoughts did remind him of something, though. Odd dreams he occasionally had of his awful job and a very peculiar customer that came in. They could be a good customer that bought things, but they were a total freak that made everything seem colder around them. Their black cloak was dusty and they seemed dangerous in spite of their small size. While they tried to threaten him, he kept behind the counter and gave them what they asked for. That didn't always save him.

Those dreams were kind of like this feeling sometimes that he was a girl somehow.

Blinking, Catclaw looked at the message again. What did Chilldrake mean by Alphys poking at them? It didn't make any sense to him. But using her as an example, that made sense. They meant to do a big rally in a few days, once Chilldrake got into the city with others from Snowdin. That would be a good time, so it would be a matter of capturing the scientist.

He'd just have to hold back on killing her until the moment was right.

* * *

“Hey demon guy! That was a complete fail, how do you explain that?!”

The only thing that answered Flowey was the hiss of steam vents. He grumbled to himself. The murder went perfectly fine, that wasn't the issue. But while Undyne had gotten mad at Frisk, he'd lost track of them when the walkway collapsed. He needed some earth to root in and it was all dark water down there. When the pair got back up, they seemed to be on friendly terms! Undyne hadn't insisted on locking Frisk in, although he had asked for the lab to be locked down.

“And the ghosts aren't doing anything more than giving him more work,” Flowey muttered aloud. At least they couldn't be used by others to become more powerful in their current states. “Maybe this really is all pointless... no, I can't be giving up! I will win, somehow. Maybe I will wreck the mountain again, since they seem awful insistent on trying to make this loop the last. But it won't work, someone else will crop up with power over time or they'll just keep going.”

Maybe even he could get that power again? Somehow. There had to be a way. Flowey burrowed back into the ground, heading up to New Home. He could do some thinking there. Or, maybe just trip a few fools with roots, that would be fun. Only for a few minutes, maybe an hour if he pushed himself. That kind of fun just wasn't the same.

However, the streets were quiet. There were a few monsters walking about, but they kept in groups and seemed nervous. That did make it a little more fun since the unexpected trips would make the groups even more nervous. Heh, with this kind of stress in the density of the city, it could trigger other monsters to snap and cause even more chaos. What was the king even doing? It was his responsibility to calm the populous down in times like this. Well, he was worthless anyhow.

While Flowey was at his game, he popped up into toy store, closed for the night cycle. It could be a distraction. Maybe even an inspiration. Thinking that, he slipped around the store looking around. Thankfully, the shelves were those metal kinds with holes he could use to climb up for a better view. Some were worn toys from the human world, cleaned up to make them acceptable: metal cars, action figures, marbles, even a kaleidoscope that he had to wrap a vine around several times in order to pick up and look in.

There were also monster-made toys that were copies of the human-made or traditional old-fashioned toys. Inside a dollhouse with a mismatched assortment of furnishing, he found a little rag doll that might be given to a bigger doll that lived in the house. Or himself. The scale of this dollhouse made it like he was a kid in this house, able to sit in the chairs but he had to stretch up to see on the counters. The rag doll wouldn't be something he was interested in, except that it was wearing a yellow and green striped shirt and black shorts. It also had brown hair, but didn't have a face.

“Was somebody trying to make a mockery of Chara?” Flowey said, picking up the rag doll. “It's an insult to make her out of rags, and so tiny. It does look a bit like her. Not entirely, but...”

It reminded him of things, like waiting among other golden flowers and feeling nothing inside. He'd been able to sense that remnant of Chara's with Frisk even after Papyrus crushed it. But, he hadn't when Frisk came back up with Undyne this time. Was even it gone? Then, there wasn't anything left of her. Her body had decayed away long ago, her soul had been taken somewhere else, and even that corrupted shadow was destroyed.

Flowey trembled a little and laughed, pulling the doll closer. “If I could end this all, I would. Heh heh heh... but I can't. I'm not in control, that stupid boy is and he just won't let the world die. But it's all worthless! You're not here, and I don't care what he says, I do not have a soul! I probably can't even kill myself fully without destroying everything around me and not giving this stupid determination the chance to think me out of it. This is never going to end and I might as well just accept it... but I can't! I can't die, I don't want to become a stupid waste of space. What the hell is going to work?!”

Before he could say any more, there was a click of a door's lock.

“Let's go Chara, we'll figure something out together,” Flowey said, taking the doll with him as he scaled back down the shelves and burrowed back underground.

* * *

 “Um, make yourself at home, I guess.”

Napstablook's house had changed since Shyren had last been in here. They actually had a couch now, an old tan one that had settled into this place like the rest of the worn and cobwebbed furnishings. Over on the wall near the couch, there was a mirror that looked like it had been glitzy before the spiders got to it. It had a shelf with a hairbrush, jar of pens, and a glittery figurine of Mettaton. She'd heard the two of them working on music in here before, but had never felt like she could be included.

She blinked, trying to get tears out of her eyes. The human ghost or whatever had been lurking within her soul was almost always crying. However, Shyren hadn't been sure how to help her. The ghost wanted to wake up from some nightmare and find herself back home instead of the underground here where she'd been killed. Was she able to cross the barrier with her? She wasn't sure, since she didn't feel all that powerful.

“This ghost really wants to get home,” Shyren said. Just saying that made a deep homesickness swell up again.

“Um, but it's human, right?” Napstablook asked.

“The human who can help her means to break the barrier to do so,” Mettaton said with some excitement. “I saw him get into a battle with Undyne today and he won her over with his style, it was a spectacle with no equal! So I’m sure he can get her home.”

“Is that the same human I met in the Ruins?” Napstablook asked. “He's a good person.”

Mettaton shrugged. “Well there's only one living human in the underground, of course it's the same one. Hey, how about we let Shyren hear that song? It'd be good to have an extra musical ear listen in before we do a full release.”

“S-sure, if you don't mind, Shyren,” Napstablook said. However, they then shifted their eyes nervously. “Um, sorry if this sounds weird, but, I just have this feeling, haven't we already done this before? Except not.”

“Maybe,” Mettaton said, dropping onto the couch. “I have a feeling like that too, but at the same time, I feel like that things are different from when we did it before, except we haven't had her listen in.”

It gave her a chill along her scales. Thankfully, the music wasn't on yet and she didn't have to speak up much. “When you came to see me, I felt like I knew that he was with you even though I hadn't seen you both yet. Also, like it was later than before. But that was so strange that I didn't say anything.”

“Ooo, spooky,” Napstablook said. “Well, um, let's just listen to the song, okay?”

And even though she was hearing this for the first time, it felt like it was actually the second. Why?

* * *

 Sans had arrived late for dinner, but he had good news about how Frisk was doing. “Undyne wrecked the thing that overtook both of you, so he's also free of that now. They both seemed worn down when the ferry person brought them in, so they're resting over at the lab.”

“Thank goodness it is gone,” Toriel said. She'd worried about it the past few days, wondering how much further Frisk could go in his efforts to get rid of his corruption when a hateful spirit like that was chained to his soul. This Unyne couldn't be all that bad even if she was one of Asgore's supporters.

“Man, you are so lucky to have been able to watch that battle,” Papyrus said in awe. “Frisk has a lot of potential for powerful magic and Undyne is incredible, so that would have been a battle of titans!”

“Eh, it was kind of boring until he went and summoned a mirror image of her,” Sans said.

“He did what?!” Papyrus asked, but Sans just winked and wouldn't explain further.

After dinner and trying out the trifle, they spent a couple hours playing a card game together. It made Toriel feel more lighthearted than she'd felt in many years. She'd been alone for nearly all of it, and then these past few years with Frisk were difficult at times even though he was one of her precious children. But this carefree afternoon in the kitchen with Papyrus and then a cheerful atmosphere of home when Sans came back in, it was all a joy she hadn't experienced since that long ago tragedy. Maybe she should have come back out sooner, if only to make some friends.

It helped that Sans was a gentleman underneath his casual attitude. Sometimes his look warmed at her, but he kept things subtle while they were around others. When she got tired, he offered to see her back to the clinic for the night. “With the storm the other day, the weather ought to be calm around here for a while.”

“Maybe I'll take a walk around town tomorrow,” she said. “The snow gives this area a wonderful character, and the town has always had a warm heart.”

“When it's this cold, we'd better have a warm heart to keep comfy,” Sans said.

Something about the conversation seemed odd, though. “Of course. But, have we had this conversation before? I do not think so, and yet this whole evening seems like I have been through it all before. It was lovely, yes, but I cannot put a finger on this feeling.”

“To be honest, your feeling is correct,” he said. “Something happened that forced Frisk to turn back time several hours. I haven't had the time to ask him about it yet.” Then he winked up at her. “I couldn't resist coming back home for this evening again, you see.”

Toriel laughed a little at that. “It was wonderful. But I hope Frisk is all right. As nice as this evening was, I would not want to make him redo his encounter with Undyne.”

“He asked Alphys to lock up the lab for the night, so hopefully that doesn't happen again,” Sans said.

Later on, Toriel couldn't help but wonder how the two of them dealt with times like this, especially when Frisk had had to undo a whole ten years before.

* * *

 Alphys had thought about starting her study of Frisk's documents, but something else was nagging at her attention. It started with wondering about her scale for determination values if Undyne matched Asgore. Maybe if she took off the limit of twenty? But that still came out the same.

Things had taken a weird turn when another being that triggered the DT 99+ error showed up. There were a lot of strange things about their scanned stats, such as having an unreadable LOVE. After a short bit, the being threw Frisk, Undyne, and Alphys' camera into a nightmare of a time distortion. The readings she got from the camera confirmed that, although she was having trouble locating the data that allowed the lab computers to identify it as such. The demonic looking Frisk also triggered the DT 99+ error, though that wasn't surprising.

When she got data off the nightmare Undyne, the numbers were horrifying and yet exactly what she predicted. Her DT range was calculated to be 20 to 27, but her current DT was ranked at 45. Her words after the battle explained that. While she had been killed early on in the encounter with the corrupt Frisk, her willpower had pushed her to continue the battle at any cost. But forcing her determination to climb so high ended with her melting the moment she could relax. Unfortunately, Alphys hadn't gotten the camera out of the time distortion and it was crushed when the strange space collapsed.

Wanting to double check her equipment, Alphys had asked the lab computer to scan those in the room with her. Mettaton had come back with a DT range of 12 to 14, a current DT of 12. It made sense since he had a drive to keep his fame going. She had scanned Sans years ago; her records showed that he had a range of 3 to 5. Today, the scan showed him at a current DT of 16. The recalculated range came up with 13 to 16.

Alphys made sure to point that out to him after Mettaton had left to go speak to Napstablook. It had surprised him too when she explained that was really high for a monster. But after a moment, he pointed out something that seemed important. “If your determination is your will to keep going, it only makes sense that it will change as the circumstances of your life change. And perhaps it's not only the individual that affects that trait. A person's relationship with others might cause their determination to rise or fall.”

And that made sense when she considered her own records. In her initial scans including herself, she'd had a range of 11 to 13. When the determination experiments had gone horribly wrong, her range had plummeted to 1 to 3 and stayed there for years. The scan today showed her current DT at 15, with a range of 12 to 15.

What were the differences? The first scans had been when she had a good network of friends and the support of Asgore, when she'd had a goal she put all of her efforts towards reaching. The later scans were when she isolated herself and stopped doing anything. And, today's scan was when she was seriously grasping the goal of breaking the barrier once again, waiting to meet a new friend in person, and having a wonderful person in Undyne as her girlfriend. It only made sense that her determination shifted like that due to the circumstances around her.

Alphys tapped her claws on the desk while thinking, when an odd feeling bubbled up. Something should have happened. Would happen. Would it?

“Hey, I got us something to eat,” Undnye said, coming up from behind her and setting a sandwich down by the keyboard.

“Oh, thanks,” she said, looking back and smiling at her. And that odd feeling lingered. “I had a funny feeling that you’d do this.”

“You know, I felt like I’d done this night before,” Undyne said, sitting in a chair nearby and setting down her own larger sandwich. “Except, it wasn’t the same. I can’t say why, but,” she rubbed her head. “Ngah, whatever! Things turned out well; we even found the river person so the ferry will get back in business. Oh, and sorry about wanting to kill Frisk. You’ve got a real good friend in him.”

“He’s blunt, but he means well,” Alphys said. “Though he seems different in recent days. Softer, perhaps, more willing to be considerate.”

“He fights an awful lot like Asgore, so I think he has the same kind of heart,” she said. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I, uh, I should be reading over Frisk’s material,” she admitted. “But I got distracted in some of the numbers I recorded of that battle between you and him. I...” should she really say it? Yes, she definitely should! “I can prove statistically that you’ve greatly improved my life.”

Undyne’s eyes widened for a moment. “Alphys...” Then she grinned and hugged her tight. “Alphys!”

“Undyne?”

“Don’t tell me, it’ll make it less magical,” she said, keeping a hold on her.

Alphys laughed, hugging her back. “No it doesn’t! You see...”

“No, don’t say it, I love you with all my heart and that’s all I need to know!” But she chuckled a little herself.

“Well it makes it more magical to me,” she replied, trying to be stern but feeling far too silly for it. “I love you with all my heart too.”

* * *

 Frisk ended up in the same room as before, putting him on edge. He wasn’t sealed in with an electrical barrier anymore, but that didn’t help. Whoever managed to kill him had gotten through that. At least Alphys had agreed to lock up the lab while he was resting. Still, who would kill him in his sleep? Probably not Undyne. Maybe Asgore? But he doubted that.

Well, wondering about that would get him nowhere. He just had to be careful. He wasn’t as tired, since summoning the doppelganger wasn’t as draining as walking all that way through Waterfall. After a while of failing to get to sleep, Frisk gave up on it and logged into the computer system. There might be things he couldn’t research remotely. What to check?

First, he searched for a map of the underground, hoping for a detailed version where he could locate holes in the mountain. He soon found that Alphys had an extensive network of cameras from way back at the start of Puzzle Road in Snowdin to outside the king’s castle in New Home. They were a variety of brands and qualities, some of her build as well. Recalling that he’d seen a shaft of sunlight in Waterfall, he checked cameras there.

Frisk had to go back to recordings several hours ago in order to locate that light, between the history murals and the living area for most of the Waterfall monsters. Checking the view of several cameras and the map, he narrowed the shaft’s origin down to an area labeled Old Viewpoint. There was a road leading from the glowing swamp up to the Old Viewpoint, but it was currently labeled dangerous for civilian use. There was a spacious expanse between the viewpoint and the rest of Waterfall.

“If that sun comes from a large enough opening,” he mumbled to himself, bringing up a drawing program to make notes, “I could get my other signal booster out there. Alphys is good with electronics, so we could rig up a system to catch the booster’s signals somewhere in Waterfall… that area looks pretty good. Then we could set up a wireless access straight to the lab to access the human internet from here. But we’d have to get up that road, what’s the problem there?”

When he tried to look into it, the computer system refused to give an answer. Frisk tried a few more times, eventually getting a new window to pop up. ‘Access to chronograph studies is restricted. Who is your supervisor?’

“Is that still on the network?” he wondered, then put in the first name he thought of even if he didn’t know much about them: Ossien G.

The computer replied, ‘Scientist W.D. Gaster does not exist; records of account unable to access. Permission impossible to grant.’ As Frisk was disappointed and started to wonder who he might ask about this, a blue bar began filling up. ‘Searching… Sending access request… Access request granted by W. D. Gaster. Account Elder F. is now given administrative position over chronograph and time research division. use wisely frisk, that you and my children don’t meet my fate.’

“Someone who doesn’t exist?” he wondered. “That’s Sans and Papyrus’ name, but they exist. What was your fate?”

But now that he had access (and control, apparently), the system was willing to tell him why the road to the Old Viewpoint was dangerous. ‘Vast time rift open from Viewpoint Road to the surface of Abyssal Lake. Contains impressions of erased versions of history, may cause total or near total erasure of people who get too close to the strongest part of the rift.’ It then linked several documents to check on for more information.

That was the thing that they’d fought Undyne’s nightmare in. That was, an erased version of history he had been responsible for and somehow it still afflicted her. Getting near the center part of the rift would be reckless without more information. Hopefully something could be done about the rift. It didn’t seem like something to just leave lying around.

Still, access to the human internet was vital. It would help them deal with the ghosts of the lost children and could be used to start up communications between monsters and humans. To Frisk, that sounded like a good thing to do before he went and broke the barrier. Also, he was still in a time of life when he needed secure access to physical foods. Going all the way back to the entrance of the Ruins once a week when work was needed here in Hotland would be a hassle.

Maybe there was another way? To reach the Old Viewpoint or to find another hole in the mountain for this connection. The waterfalls themselves might be a possibility, if the water didn’t interfere with the signal. Frisk looked back to the map and camera array to figure out where to look into. While Ossien or W.D. Gaster was a mystery, there were more immediate matters to deal with.

* * *

 All right, prep for today's meals were done! Enough to fulfill the orders he currently had, plus an extra dozen in case of last minute orders, that was good. Papyrus glanced out the window and noted that the light cycle was still on night. Since few people would be out and about to chat with, he decided it was a good time to clean house. He didn't have much to clean up in the kitchen since he made sure to clean up thrice daily there in his workspace. But the other rooms could use some work.

As he was vacuuming in the living room, he noticed something peculiar: dust bunnies drifting down from the second floor hall. He'd get one area done and once he turned his back, the floor would be dull and gray again. Had it been that long since he cleaned? Papyrus didn't think so. He usually cleaned each area once a week.

“Hey, Papyrus?” Sans called from upstairs. “Could you bring that thing up here?”

“The vacuum? Sure!” If the dust bunnies kept tumbling down from above, it wasn't going to do any good to clean down here until the upstairs was taken care of. Papyrus carried the vacuum upstairs but nearly dropped it at the top of the stairs. “S-Sans? What in the world happened up here?”

Papyrus had long been bugging Sans to do some cleaning in his area of the house. He even took to ninja cleaning in some parts visible to guests because that never got done. But this... it was like all that dust, grime, and dirt had exploded right out of Sans' room. There were dirty socks scattered about, hanging on picture frames and even on the ceiling light. It made a smelly haze in the air; they'd have to deal with cold for maybe a week to get that all aired out!

Sans came out of his room, coated in dirt and dust bunnies far worse than the hall. “Well sometimes to clean up one mess, you end up making a bigger mess in the process. I was just trying to reclaim some notebooks from the vortex in my room.”

“Well that's why you should have taken care of it ages ago before it exploded like this,” Papyrus said. “Go take a shower to clean yourself up first, I’ll vacuum the hall.”

“All right,” he agreed, surprisingly. “Can't do any work like this anyhow.”

“But first, why are there so many socks in here?” he asked. “Neither of us wear them, since you wear slippers half the time.”

He waved the question off as he walked by. “The vortex probably drew in lost socks from around the world, an interesting side-effect to what it was. You probably won't find a single pair among them.”

While the socks were kind of useless, Papyrus went ahead and gathered them up to throw into the laundry. Sans did help out once he got himself cleaned up, helping to find the socks and cleaning off their furniture. It was enough that Papyrus wasn't angry with him for causing the dust bunny explosion. Actually, there wasn't anything Papyrus could think of that would make him angry with his brother for long. Annoyed, yes, that happened a lot. But this was another sign that he was turning his life around for a lazy do-nothing, which made Papyrus proud of him.

It didn't stop Sans from telling his awful puns whenever possible, but it was still an improvement.

* * *

 Loop 432

(if they are forgotten there will be no trace of their existence anymore)

(This journal seems like it once held most of the 400s. The numbers are still there, but the entries are entirely blank. There are a few impressions left on the pages, scattered words and phrases that don't mean anything without context. There's also a name that shows up, Sally. Who was she? And why are these five journals blank?)

(i'll lose them all again, this proves it. i don't have control and even if i had control, well, that ruined my father. what else can i do? i need to locate baphomet because that seems to be the only way. still, if i fail to get their cooperation, i could be erased entirely from existence too, purged from history just like this sally apparently was. but that's fine, 200 shows i'm hardly supposed to be here as it is. i just don't hope i end up losing papyrus in doing this, or leaving him alone.)

(was the first line written in loop 432? i don't think the other two were. this certainly isn't. the consequences of failure are incomprehensible.)

Loop 801

(There are a few lines in an ancient language here. The only piece that is understandable is the newly learned symbol for Baphomet.)

* * *

When Cinna opened his eyes, he saw dark blue. A river was running nearby, an unfamiliar voice was counting. There was a bookshelf nearby that had bins of magazines rather than books. While there was a patchwork quilt on him, he was on a couch rather than a bed. Where was he? He felt like half his mind was still asleep. Maybe that was Becca?

He sat up and it took a minute for him to gain his bearings enough to try getting on his feet. The voice outside kept counting. Was it familiar? It seemed like someone he hadn't seen or heard from in a long time. Cinna went out the door to see who it might be. On seeing the monster out there, he remembered, that was Aaron. The seahorse man was doing pull ups on a metal bar attached to the cave wall.

There was a river nearby, with ice blocks floating down it. But there was no snow, it wasn't cold, and much of the rocks had a blue color. This had to be Waterfall. Hadn't he been in the Hall of History? The daytime lights were starting to come on. “Um, g-good morning,” Cinna said.

Pausing in his exercise, Aaron glanced down. “Ah, good morning kiddo!” He let go of the bar and dropped down to float just over the ground on his curled tail. “Glad to see you're up. Aaron's out doing laps in the river, so we'll get some breakfast once he's back.”

“Aren't you Aaron?” he asked, feeling tired of things being confusing.

He grinned and winked at that. “Course I'm Aaron! My bro's Aaron, and my other bro is Aaron too. Except we don't see as much of him lately, he's been trying to find evidence of ghosts for the past five years.”

“Doesn't that get confusing? All of us rabbits have different names.” Cinna couldn't begin to imagine how chaotic Snowdin would get if all the rabbits were just called 'Rabbit' or something.

“Not really, there's just the three of us,” Aaron said. “I hear we're looking after you until your sister apologizes.”

“Yeah, but I think I was supposed to go to the lab in Hotland too?” he said, trying to recall when he'd heard that.

He nodded. “Right-o, heard about that too. Sometime in the afternoon, we'll catch the ferry to go talk with them about ghosts. Just don't tell Aaron, he'll freak.”

Which Aaron? “Uh, okay.”

This Aaron snapped his fingers. “But, I had a good idea! Choco's a sweet gal, so I'm happy to do a favor or two for her family; she said you could use some help getting confidence. Well the best way I know of to get confident is to get strong, so you know you can do anything you put your mind to! Want to know how to get all buff like me and my bros?”

That was not something Cinna had ever considered doing. His Dad was pretty strong for a rabbit, but not buff like this guy was. Then again, this could get him to a point where he'd no longer be considered cute. “Uh, s-sure, I’ll try it.”

“Great answer!” Aaron said enthusiastically, then picked him up and brought him over to a shelf on the wall. “Here, powder up your hands so you get a good grip, then I’ll let you try out the bar. Course, you're a little guy so it might be enough of a workout right now just to hang there. I'll be spotting you, don't worry.”

It took a lot of work, but Cinna managed to get his chin over the bar once before the other Aaron got back from his swim.


	24. Erinyes

Eventually, Alphys had called him into the front area of the lab. It was an interesting place, with escalators leading up to the private area of the head scientist and a giant monitor that was flipping through various cameras in the underground. Alphys herself was at a U-shaped desk that had a lot of papers and files stacked around the work computer. Beside the desk, there was a cute trash bin, a fridge, and piles of reference books with bookmarks and clips.

“Good morning, Alphys,” he said to her, taking the nearby seat to talk with her.

“Oh, good morning, Frisk,” she said, smiling at him. “I noticed you've been logged into the system for a while. Couldn't sleep?”

“Right, there's just so many issues to tackle right now,” he said. “Can't stop thinking through everything.”

She nodded and went back to reading the document she had open. “I know how that is. Help yourself to any of the soda in the fridge, or there's a small kitchen in the door over there if you want some breakfast.”

“Actually, that's something I should talk with you about,” Frisk said. “I'd like to be able to work with you here a while on the barrier, the ghosts, and other issues. There seems to be some equipment here I could use that I wouldn't get elsewhere, and I need to work with you anyhow. But humans have different needs from monsters that need to be worked out before I can reasonably stay here. For one thing, I need a different sort of bathroom.”

“How's that?” Alphys asked, turning from her reading. It was a weird thing to talk about, but she caught on quickly and considered it in logical terms. “Would you need to deal with all of that if you were eating magical foods like us? The water I could understand, but...”

“Not at this time,” he said. “I'm not fully an adult yet, so I need physical food to account for my growth. Actually, I'm stunted already because I spent a few of my childhood years in the Ruins on a magical food diet. But at this point in my life, I could die of malnutrition if I tried to keep on that.”

“That's no good,” she said, shifting her chair to face him and looking serious. “Then, any human child who falls down here would be at the same risk of a slow sickly death?”

Frisk nodded. “Right. An adult could manage if they're careful. As for myself, I raised a connection to the human internet in the Ruins so that I could use dimensional storage to order food from a grocery store. That works. However, the signal can't come out this far; it couldn't even reach outside of that one room with the way I had to set it up back there. But I've got some equipment to set up another connection point if I can find a break in the mountain large enough and set up a relay system.”

“Is that what you were looking into with the camera records?”

“Yes, can I show you here?” He brought up the files he'd been using for notes to show her the most likely locations. Unfortunately, that spot at the Old Viewpoint had the most promise here. “But the road's cut off due to a dangerous time distortion and there seems to be no other way to get up there.”

“Well I have no idea what to do about a time distortion because all the data on past time research has been locked off and you can only get in there randomly,” Alphys said.

“I somehow got named the head of the time research division last night, at random,” Frisk said.

She widened her eyes for a moment. “Really? Huh. Well I'll leave it to you, I never felt right about that branch of study. It always seemed like it was something that could drive you insane.”

“That's probably prudent,” he agreed.

Alphys then turned her focus back to reaching Old Viewpoint or one of the other spots that sunlight came through. “Hmm, well I could build you a jetpack to reach out there.”

“You can build a jetpack?” Frisk asked, surprised and impressed. He'd known she was clever, but that seemed like a thorny idea to work out.

Even so, she seemed confident in it. “Yes, I've build a couple and tested them out successfully. It'd have to be reworked to account for your greater physical mass. And, the fuel could be a problem, unless,” Alphys looked back at him. “Hey, do you know how to charge a magical engine with your own power?”

He nodded. “That shouldn't be hard, once I get a look at it.”

She smiled brightly at that. “Great! Because the monsters I had test the others weren't capable of recharging the engine. But on studying your battle with Undyne a few hours ago, you have way more magical power than we do. If you could keep the jetpack charged, it'd increase the fuel economy of the whole unit. I'll have to run some numbers and let you try out a similar engine to make sure it's safe, but that could get you over there. Unless you have a spell for flight?”

“No, I don't,” he said. “It's possible and I do have spells for hovering over things. But that's the thing, I need to have something to hover over. Crossing an expanse of just air requires spellwork I don't know.”

“All right, we'll work on that so we can get your connection set up sometime this week,” Alphys said, getting out of her chair. “That bathroom issue seems more immediate, so what do you think about...?”

* * *

As Undyne finished up telling Asgore about her encounter with the human, she wondered again about failing her duty in not following his orders. “Look, I'm sorry I didn't manage to kill him.”

“You already apologized, it's fine,” Asgore said, smiling briefly. Although he still didn't look well, weary-eyed and cold enough that he was wearing an old green sweater. At least he'd eaten the breakfast she'd made. “He wants to break the barrier for us?”

“Not entirely for us since his purpose is to get the other six souls put to rest and brought home,” Undyne said, sitting back in her chair at the dining table. The golden flowers in the vase were starting to droop, she noted. Usually they looked nice for a long time as long as they got fresh water. “He's not against us either. He could use this amazing magic to make a copy of me, me! But then he had no desire to hurt me and was just trying to get me to calm down and listen. Besides, Alphys has faith in him and I feel like, it's worth a risk to have some faith in him as well.”

Asgore nodded. “I will speak to him myself, but it sounds like we are better off sparing him. Hmm, and, he must deserve to be wearing that rune.” His eyes lowered and he seemed deep in thought.

After a moment, she asked, “Asgore?”

“He was in the Ruins prior to a few days ago, correct?” he asked without losing his focus. When she nodded, he went on. “I have read in newspapers about the internet young monsters use. We can assume he made contact with Alphys through there. Perhaps, he's why all this chaos is happening right now.”

Undyne leaned forward and slammed her hands on the table. “What?! He's been stirring up stuff behind the scenes?”

“He might not mean to make trouble,” Asgore said, calming her down. “I remember from the days of the war, human wizards who earn the right to wear the Delta Rune were summoners. Any wizard high enough ranked to wear a rune could be terrifying as an enemy. The summoners in particular were capable of bring monsters to life from nothing but dust and magic. From dust we came, to dust we return.”

“Like that me he summoned?” she asked, curious to hear more of this even as it made her nerves tingle. “Except he used water.”

He looked over to her, his eyes more alive in thought. “That must have been a mere shadow, not a true creation. You noted that it had lifeless eyes; it could not exist without its connection to Frisk. However, there is something else that summoners in particular can do, even unconsciously. Since we monsters originated as spirits the summoners called upon in ancient days, the mere presence of a summoner nearby can empower us. You may not have noticed, but you would have been more powerful in that battle simply because he was there.”

“Whoa, that's incredible,” Undyne said. It was like he said, she hadn't noticed. But maybe that helped her beat the strange black heart, and her nightmare.

Asgore snapped his fingers. “Words are powerful, more than most people expect. By spreading his word through this internet, he made contact with many monsters and sparked their spirits, a lit match tossed on dry wood. It's little wonder then that the restlessness caused by that has in turn caused a revived interest in actually going to war with humanity. Which may not be his intentions. With the influence his spirit and words have on us, it may take his words to calm people down.”

“So he could actually be our greatest ally if we treat him right?' she asked. Which might mean not holding a war against humanity, but she was starting to think that it might be good to see how other humans were if Frisk was how he was.

“Potentially.” He closed his eyes again. “I really should go over and talk with him, about this and seeing for myself what his intentions are.”

That worried her, mostly about his health. “You sure about that? You still seem sick.”

“A walk could do me good,” he said. “Even if I take the elevator system to cut a lot of distance, the exercise could help.”

“Well I'll come with you, just in case,” Undyne said.

While she was holding the door for him, she felt a chill down her spine and thought she smelled something off. But it was gone as quick as it came.

* * *

The solution to the bathroom issue was unconventional, but it worked with no need to worry about messes or contamination. It was just one of the oddest ones around, most likely. With that taken care of, he and Alphys went back to the main lab area to reconfigure her jetpack design to carry him across the Waterfall cavern. Monsters did have a weight to them, but naturally had less mass than a human did. And some of them could be quite heavy. They still needed to boost the jet's power and make it dependent on an infusion from him.

While they were tinkering with the engine she had, there was a knock on the entrance door. “Oh wait, I think that's still locked,” Alphys said, getting up to open it through her computer. She also checked on the camera outside. “It's, Undyne and Asgore. Hey Frisk, could you get some water on to make some tea? You should make, um, there should be some golden flower tea in there.”

“Sure thing,” he said, leaving the engine project for the moment to go into the kitchen.

He got the kettle full of water and was searching for the particular tea as the other two came in. “Good morning,” Alphys said in a warm friendly tone. Then she got concerned. “Asgore? Are you okay? You don't look so good.”

“Don't worry yourself, I will be fine,” Asgore said. It was a voice heavy with sadness, triggering some memories in Frisk. The king of monsters would fight him, but was reluctant and tried to stall every time. In the end, though, he fell with grace. He had accepted death, even welcomed it. The last time Frisk had seen him was probably the only time they'd met and Asgore had not died.

He came out of his thoughts to the kettle whistling, so he focused back on the present. He'd managed to pick out the right jar of golden flower tea even lost in thought. Thankfully, it had instructions on the side so that he could start it brewing before bringing the kettle and tea cups in the other room.

Undyne asked, “Where's the human?”

“I asked him to make some tea for us, he should be back soon,” Alphys said. “Sorry about the mess, we were working out how to accommodate a human here in the lab. Erm, is that okay? He's the one who really understands how the barrier can come down like this and we'll definitely need him present to make this method possible.”

“That's fine,” Asgore said, much to Frisk's relief. “The fact that Undyne is willing to speak for him speaks volumes.”

“Sorry, I know I get loud when I'm excited,” Undyne said, making the other two laugh.

“That's not quite what I meant, but sure,” he said.

Fortunately, there was a tray that he could get everything on. Frisk didn't fully trust himself to carry hot tea and all these dishes, but some telekinesis made sure the tray would remain steady. He focused first on getting the tray to the table Alphys had brought out for them to sit around. Once it was down, he said, “Here we go.”

Alphys hesitated on introducing him, so Undyne picked up on it instead. “So yeah, this is our human Frisk. And this is our king, Asgore Dreemurr.”

Asgore got out of his seat and smiled, offering a handshake. He was very similar to Toriel in appearance, Frisk thought. Perhaps it had something to do with how she said she had needed to change before she could marry him. And seeing him face to face, it was undeniable that he did not look well. There were dark rings around his eyes that didn't seem to be natural coloration. “Howdy, Frisk, good to meet you. I hope we can settle matters between our races peacefully.”

“Yes, I hope so too,” Frisk said, shaking his hand. “Good to meet you.”

Out of nowhere, there was an unearthly shriek that seemed like something was screaming, “No!” A mass of dirty bloody feathers crashed into the table. When it turned its head, it had a human's face instead of a bird. It had human hands with dark red claws instead of feet. It seemed like a harpy, but harpies were a kind of monster. This creature had a hollow yellow soul, more of a spirit instead of a monster.

Frisk backed right off. “Th-... you're a fury.”

Alphys scrambled away; she wasn't a fighter. On the other hand, Undyne quickly hurled an energy spear at it and did not look ready to back down. The fury deflected it with a wing. “Not you,” it said in a raspy voice, not taking its eyes off Asgore.

While the rest of them had gone into some action, Asgore stayed still. Those old memories... although he was the king of monsters, Asgore did not have the will to win here. Frisk closed his eyes to get a better grasp of the magic here. There was a binding line that let the fury haunt Asgore specifically, barely noticed by anyone else. How did it appear now? Wait. Fury; they'd tried to meet peacefully. That explained it. And the name of that yellow soul was...

Frisk gathered his wits, then spoke firmly, “Stop it, Tony.” As the fury sputtered and spit at being named, the yellow bind became more visible. “Undyne, cut through that.”

“Got it,” she said, calling on a different magical spear to cut through the bind. The fury flung a storm of bladed feathers in every direction, causing Undyne to throw a shield enchantment over Alphys to keep her safe. “What now?”

Frisk died, but got himself back to get his own shield up. Hopefully, this wouldn't be a repeat of the battle with Papyrus where he died multiple times in a row. “You can't defeat a fury in a fight, but wear him down anyhow. Watch out for him trying to bind to someone again. When he gets weak enough that he turns translucent, we need to bind him to something inanimate. Anything would work.”

“I know how to bind things magically,” Alphys said, keeping her shield forward.

He did too, but he'd give her a chance. “Okay.” Looking at the mess of table that the fury had made, he saw that one of the teacups had a large crack in it but was mostly intact. Frisk slid it over to her with telekinesis. “Here, that work for you?”

“That's fine,” she said, catching it and starting up the process.

Meanwhile, a string of bright fireballs struck the fury. But it was nothing like what Frisk remembered Asgore being capable of. It certainly didn't do a lot against the fury. However, Undyne more than made up for the reluctance or lack of battle ability in the rest of them. The fury tried cutting them with wind blades and more feathers, but his attacks did little against her. With the amount of damage the attacks were doing to Asgore, though, Frisk had to cast the strong healing spell over him. It was coming almost naturally now; a little more practice and he could start manipulating it.

When the fury started flickering, he brought his ragged wings out around him like a shield. “His name was Tony, right?” Alphys asked.

“Right,” Frisk said.

“Okay,” she said, chanting her binding spell quietly. It sent a white bind after the fury Tony struggled, but was weak enough from the battle. Once the bind caught his yellow heart, he was dragged over to sit next to the teacup.

“Asgore, are you all right?” Undyne asked in concern, dropping her shield to run over to his side. It reminded Frisk of how he'd been when Toriel had gotten badly hurt.

He hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “No. That poor soul has been tormenting me without rest, not letting me forget for a moment that... I was responsible for his death, and that of the others.”

“Anger made one of the souls turn into that?” Undyne asked, glancing back at the messy bird. It glared back but wasn't able to do anything at the moment.

Recalling his studies, Frisk said, “A ghost who suffered a violent death and ends up overcome with feelings of vengeance can turn into a fury, one of the strongest ghosts out there.” They were also particularly aggressive against oath breakers or those who swore foolish oaths. But seeing how crushed Asgore already was, he felt he shouldn't add that now. There was something they should know. “They torment others by keeping their victims from eating or sleeping. So you should try to eat something now and get some sleep.”

“He did eat breakfast not that long ago,” Undyne said. “Hey Alphys, mind if he sleeps over here at the lab? I was worried enough about him coming over here.”

“I wouldn't want to impose,” Asgore said, trying to fight off his fatigue.

“No, no, it's fine,” Alphys said, coming over to him as well. “Come here, there's a couple of guest rooms that are kept clean, you go ahead and sleep there. We'll take care of you.”

Frisk didn't want to leave the fury alone, even weakened and bound as he was. He kept an eye on Tony until the other two to come back. “He really was tired, was out like a light,” Alphys said as they came over. “Now what do we do about this guy?”

“I have some plans, watch him while I prepare this,” he said, taking out his tablet.

Some spirits had interested him more than others, so he remembered them more clearly. A fury could not be placated through an apology from its victim, since they often considered it the victimizer. To be fair, it was often true as it was here. Asgore might be sincere in asking for forgiveness, but a fury would not give it. To calm a fury down, one had to make it think it had been successful in its vengeance. It would work if it killed its victim and one caught it before it found another, but Frisk didn't want that option.

There was also the color of Tony's soul to consider. Colors usually indicated a soul's tendency to certain traits. While there was blurring between the lines and people who defied the norm, Tony's soul was yellow enough that Frisk felt it was safe to try appealing to that type's traits. Preferring a sense of order, abiding by rules, associating with a social or familial group, holding justice as a strong ideal... perhaps that had played a part in turning him into a fury.

Now that he had his notes to refer to, Frisk sat down near the fury. “Tony,” he said, causing him to flinch. “You've done too well.”

“No, he has not suffered enough,” the fury said with a hateful scowl. “He must be destroyed with agony.”

Nearby, Undyne narrowed her eyes at Tony. Frisk held a hand up for her to be patient. Even with him intangible, getting him riled up again was counterproductive. “His suffering can be seen in his eyes, heard in his words. He already held grief and pain in his heart before you found him, didn't he? You've gone too far for justice.”

That made him pull his head down, squat on the floor to make himself smaller and more pitiful looking. “Suffer, he must suffer.”

“How much do you really know about him?” Frisk asked, keeping calm. “He lost his wife and child long ago, has to keep order in his kingdom in spite of any private sorrows he has. You must know the guilt he feels. Was he truly the one who turned you into this?”

The fury managed to make himself into an even smaller bundle of feathers. “No,” he said weakly, fear showing now. “Alone, so dark and alone. We were here before, I know. Then it was back to darkness, no escape. Then, nightmares came. A golden flower and cursed shadows, horrible horrible things, so much hate from that black heart. I heard the cries of the others and I was enraged. But I cannot identify shadows. I only knew the one who killed us and kept us so alone.”

In his mind, Frisk was cursing that Flowey was involved with this. It was probably what he'd alluded to about something to scare him. Nervous, Alphys looked down at mention of the flower. Undyne recognized something else, saying, “The black heart? I smashed that thing to bits yesterday.”

“It's gone?” the fury asked in a small childlike voice. Although, Tony was the oldest of the group of lost children. It could be the situation. His fury form was fading even more, making a fraying yellow heart more visible.

“Yes, she destroyed it for good,” Frisk said. “She's a loyal guard to Asgore, so you've been making her suffer too through your actions.”

“S-sorry,” he said, shivering. The fury was entirely gone, leaving just his bare soul. “So scared, nightmares never ended, so full of anger, so tired.”

“As long as you leave him alone now, I'll forgive you,” Undyne said. “He'll work hard to make amends.”

Frisk held his hand out to Tony's soul. “Yes, you don't need to be angry or afraid any more. I'm going to bring you back home, return you to the arms of the Earth Mother. Calm yourself and I will put you to sleep until that time comes.”

“I want to go home,” he said softly, his heart beating slowly.

Since he looked calm enough, Frisk called on the spell he'd designed for this purpose. Souls were intangible, so he needed some tangible form to put them in so he could keep them close. The usual methods for transporting a soul were unavailable: he didn't have their ashes or any part of their bodies, holy vessels were probably still impossible for him to use, and he wasn't versed enough in priestly magic to send them on directly in a place they saw as hostile to them. Instead, he used his studies of the Delta Rune to summon a small doll reflecting the soul's body to contain them in. The particular form was a sleeping doll, so that the soul stayed asleep and calm.

Frisk now had a doll of a boy dressed similar to a cowboy, with even a gun in a belt holster. He wore a shirt to a music star that Frisk didn't recognize himself. Most likely, it was a country-western singer popular back in Tony's day. The doll's eyes were closed and his magical sense showed the soul securely inside. “Good, this works as planned. Though I can't put him in storage like this.”

“Yeah, that'd be impossible with a soul in it,” Alphys said. “Napstablook should be coming over after noon, along with a victim they and Mettaton found, Shyren.”

“Really, Shyren got caught up in this?” Undyne asked. “Man, she's had a tough lot.”

“Let's get this mess cleaned up so it's not around when they come by,” Alphys said. The tea had spread out across the floor and shards of pottery were scatted about. The kettle was banged up with a claw hole, but Alphys said she could fix that easily.

* * *

Napstablook and Shyren showed up first. “Hi,” the ghost said quietly, looking at Frisk. “Um, nice to see you again. You look better.”

“Thanks, it's good to see you again too,” Frisk said with a smile.

“So, what do I do?” they asked. Alphys came over to see what she might help with. While setting the lost souls into dolls wasn't something she'd think of, it made sense to give them a vessel similar to what they were used to.

“Well first I need to ask Shyren here some questions,” he said. “Looks like you've got Elise.”

“Someone knows my name?” the girl ghost asked, making Shyren cry.

“That's her name,” Shyren said herself. She and Elise answered several questions from Frisk, mostly on the latter's emotional state.

“It sounds very similar to Becca,” Alphys said. “She's not angry like Tony was.”

He nodded. “I'm certain now that Becca's a weeper, and it seems like so is Elise. That's a lot easier to deal with than a fury. Now,” he turned to Napstablook, “the weeper needs to be lured into manifesting outside of its host body, then calmed down. A lullaby with a magical touch to put the target to sleep would be helpful for both parts. However, I'm going to need to keep a careful eye out and make sure the song spell isn't damaging to a human soul.”

They considered that. “Well, normally I deal with spooky music, not sleepy music. But, I know how, and, um, I think I can make the waves so it shouldn't damage anybody. Okay, um, please, keep out of the direct sound path.”

“Can I help out?” Alphys asked as Frisk stepped over closer to her to be out of the way.

“There will be a binding thread like with Tony, which needs to be cut to separate the two,” he said. “Something that's less of an attack than Undyne's spears would be nice. Then I'll be able to transform Elise too.”

“Small precise cuts are no problem,” she said. It really wasn't a lot, but the transformation spell was powerful. She knew that if she was doing something like that, it was helpful to have someone else handle lesser spells.

When the ghost came out of Shyren, Elise seemed so much like an abandoned child that Alphys felt like she could cry. Her brown hair looked dirty and her clothes were scorched rags. But Napstablook's lullaby was already making her fade into a pale blue heart. When you saw the faces to these souls, it was easier to remember that they were people too. It made Alphys regret her studies again... but no, she was going to help Frisk set things right. It didn't undo all the pain and grief she had caused, but she was going to try doing more good than bad.

When Aaron came in with Cinna a few minutes later, Alphys got a call. She thought about letting it go to a message, but she checked the number and found that it was her old friend Catty. She'd been trying to rekindle those old friendships and apologize for being a recluse for so long. For her, she could spare a few minutes. She excused herself to be in another part of the large room to answer it. “Hi Catty.”

“Hey Alphys,” she said, sounding really worried. Catty was prone to exaggerating things, but she didn't like being negative or worried. “Look, me and Bratty could really use your help, cause the healer doesn't have a clue what's going on with her.”

More than a few minutes, but that was fine. “Oh no, what's wrong with her?”

“It's been, like, the past week that she's been acting all weird, crying at the drop of a hat and saying she feels lonely somehow, even though I'm nearly always with her. And weirdest thing is, sometimes she sounds like a boy!”

Alphys glanced over at where they were explaining what they were doing to Cinna. “I see. Have her eyes changed color?”

“Huh? How'd you know? They're purple all of a sudden, and even her soul is a bit purple. It's so not her color, but it's there all the same.”

“If this is what I think it is, it's actually not that hard to fix,” Alphys said. “Bring her over to my lab, I've already got some people working with other victims.'

“What, other monsters are just crying for no reason with different eyes?”

“Yes, and I'm glad you called me about it,” she said.

Cinna and Shyren were still asleep from the lullaby when the cat and alligator came over. Frisk had already identified the soul's name as Miguel just based on the color; it didn't take him long to confirm that it was also a weeper. Apparently, that was a common transformation for ghosts given the circumstances they'd been under upon being released from their jars. What was that flower doing after all these years?

“Looks like we have some time to kill before those three wake up,” Alphys said, mostly to Catty.

“Oh, well I can tell you about the super-duper cool shop we managed to get!” Catty said, her ears perked up in excitement. “We're still making special deals at wicked low prices, but it's so sweet to actually have a shop instead of peddling in the alleyways.”

“Got any workout gear?” Aaron asked. “I'm always looking for new stuff.”

“Uh, well sure, if you get creative and stuff,” Catty replied.

“I'm going to go call my mom, she'll probably be worried about where I am,” Frisk said, heading outside the building to do so.

Alphys briefly wondered what her own parents might think of her now, but soon pushed it aside to chat with Catty and Aaron.


	25. On The Same Page

Loop 200 notes

can't believe i got this far. i'm trying to keep things calm. i've tried these little one year steps, keep going back one more year to see if i can keep papyrus from dying when he's just a kid. but, that's a definite crack in my chronograph. how much longer can it hold out? i'm worried. tired too, i've been focusing on just papyrus.

but even if he's back to being a single child, there's something in him that remembers he had an older brother at one point. he even remembers his name, even though he hasn't shown many signs of remembering other things about past loops. does he remember them? i don't want to think that he's keeping that from me. he's not the sort, papyrus is happy to talk about anything. and he still loves sans. was their connection so strong? i hate to admit it, but my memory's been bad, ever since the chronograph started humming perhaps.

i had a visit from a strange monster today, one that i'm sure i should know. they're like a darker version of the king and queen, with wings. they talked with me for a while, i know that. but all i remember of that conversation is this statement: you have failed to remember your test and have failed to progress your ambitions for far too long. a new candidate will come and you might now be purged.

i will hold myself together to finish these notes. i tried again to fight catclaw and save my son, but the murderer's magic struck my chronograph and it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. my whole self shattered and the world trembled. papyrus panicked and called for his brother. to my surprise, sans came even though he was never born in this loop. a sliver of my chronograph went to him while everything just collapsed. the last thing I knew of for loop 200 was that sans grabbed papyrus' hand and warped away with him.

by some miracle, they reappeared in loop 201 even though i haven't. the golden chronograph i had has scattered throughout the underground and i can feel my soul being pulled apart to the pieces. my name is

they survived

im sorry my children that you have to suffer my sins with me

W.D. Gaster has been purged from history...?

the chronograph is pulling itself back together somehow. maybe my soul is too. i just want to sleep.

* * *

 

It was an eerie thing to discover that you weren't supposed to exist, that you had somehow slipped through cracks from a time that was supposed to have been erased. What really happened to lost days and years? Even as it chilled his bones, Sans let the feeling go. Whatever happened back then, he existed now and he was going to make things better. But enough time had passed for the day cycle to be half over, so he headed over to Hotland.

He arrived just as the front door opened and a cat and alligator walked out, both in cheerful moods. “Yeah, next time we should go scavenge the junkyard together!” the alligator called, waving to Alphys.

“Yeah, it's been like forever, we should do that,” the cat agreed.

“I'll let you know if I get a free day,” Alphys said. “Though it may be a little while.”

“Not too long, I hope!”

“Me either,” she said, then noticed him. “Oh, hi Sans. I'm surprised you didn't just appear inside like usual.”

“Eh, I’m in no hurry,” he said. “Where's Frisk?”

She pointed him across the room. “Out back, he said he had to call his mother.”

“That guy really is devoted to her,” another voice said inside the lab. Then Undyne saw him and glared. “You! Sans, what're you doing here?!”

He waved in a friendly way as he walked in. “Hey Undyne. Just doing my job.”

“Out here?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and seeming like she'd lecture him.

“As a judge,” he reminded her. “The only major threats outside the capitol are supposedly Frisk and your practice dummy. Although, there was reports of a lone spider monster on Puzzle Road carting around a wagon with fabrics and little spiders. He proved harmless, so I guess he's just a spinster.”

While Alphys chuckled a little, Undyne groaned. “All right already, go see the human! Though he's supposed to be talking with Asgore once the king wakes up. He's here too, so don't make a commotion.”

“Gotcha,” Sans said. Asgore, huh? Maybe he should stick around for that, and text Papyrus to send some meals over to them for dinner too.

“I better get back to work on that jetpack,” Alphys said, causing the door to slid shut and heading for a different room. “We need that line soon.”

“Hey, can I help?” Undyne said, following after her.

“Sure! But be careful, we’re more likely to make noise than them.”

Out the other outer door on this level, there was an elevated path over the lava bubble that fueled the Core. It was indeed hot out here, but Frisk had his cloak on and Sans wasn't bothered by temperature. Although, his jacket was smelling unusually clean since Papyrus had insisted on getting it washed after the dust vortex explosion. Frisk was leaning against the wall by the door, so he noticed immediately.

“Hey there,” Sans said. “Got some time?”

“Hi Sans, give me a moment,” Frisk said, shifting the mouthpiece to his headset aside briefly. When he moved it back in place, he said, “Sorry, Sans just showed up and wants to talk.” A pause. “Oh, you know him pretty well?” Then his cheeks turned pink and he stammered, “M-mom! Really?”

Sans could hear her laughing and chuckled himself. She was so sweet and formal when talking normally, but Toriel definitely had her mischievous moments. Though, he didn't think he could get Papyrus equally embarrassed at hearing about them. It'd be a more worrisome thing to keep him quiet once he knew. And if they were going to be dealing with Asgore, which they had to be doing, things could get rocky if that news got around.

“Of course I will, it's just surprising,” Frisk was telling her. “Oh geez. I'll talk to you again later. I love you too, Mom, bye.”

As he was folding the headset back up, Sans said, “If that's what I think it was, you're the only person who knows outside of us right now.”

“About you and Toriel?” he asked. “I told her I'd keep it quiet. What is it?”

“We really need to talk,” he said, being serious in his tone. “Things could go wrong if we're not on the same page here.”

As soon as he turned serious, Frisk flinched. Sans thought briefly that he might have the same reaction if Frisk turned emotionless or quiet. But the boy got his wits together quickly. “All right. Do you want to go inside, or is out here okay?”

“We could find somewhere to sit inside, it's more on you because it's hot out here.”

“It's not that bad with this,” he said, tugging at the sleeve of his cloak. “And it doesn't seem like anybody's out here, we'd see someone coming except through the door. There were a few things I wanted to tell you about too, like something the river person said yesterday.”

“They don't always make sense, but they can be very on point sometimes,” he said.

While he didn't expect it to be much, what Frisk said next was surprising. “They were serious about it, a total 180 from the cheerful singing they were doing at first. They said they might have something to do with the time rifts in Waterfall, like the one Undyne and I fell into yesterday. Also, they said they knew where the last piece of your chronograph is, but you need to be ready to face your sins if you want to claim it.”

“That's odd,” Sans said, but it made him think on some things. “Nobody really knows who they are, just a boat lover who volunteers their time to help others get around. But they might be one who's slipped through in getting erased from history.”

“People are being erased?” he asked in concern. “But how would we even know that?”

He then explained about his journals, particularly on those that had almost nothing written in them. “There's a part of this lab devoted to time research, though it's not easy to access all the time.”

“That shouldn't be a problem now, since I got named the leader of that division,” Frisk said, leading into him sharing his information. Like the trouble from last night being lost once was because someone had killed him in his sleep. Along with that, something seemed to be pushing against him when he tried to go backwards at some points. Little of it seemed good, although with his access to the research, things could become clearer.

“One things I'd like to know is if your chronograph has been humming,” Sans asked, since he knew that was a sign of trouble.

“Only yesterday in the mural hall,” he said.

Around then, he realized there was a powerful corruption nearby, a soul that radiated frustration, hate, and despair. That was Flowey, right? He should be careful to make sure the flower didn't try attacking them right then. “We may have time, but that's usually a sign that the chronograph is wearing down and will break at some point.”

“If we do things right, I won't have to use it much,” Frisk said, not letting that deter him.

“But there's something bigger to worry about, isn't there?” Sans asked him. “I’ve noticed chains on your soul. Is your soul really your own?”

He shook his head. “No. At this point, I’m not sure who owns it. I thought it was the remnant, but Undyne destroyed it and nothing's undone. It might be Baphomet, the demon depicted on the mural wall, but I can't say that with certainty.”

“Is there anything we can do to get it back? Like negotiating with the demon, or an angel?”

“Well that,” he paused, thinking. “It depends on the demon, but most won't let a soul go. We’d have to find out more about Baphomet, if it is them. As for angels, I can't really ask an angel about anything. They're likely to smite me for agreeing to this kind of bargain in the first place. Also, since we have the chronographs, we’re disrupting the order of the world and they hate that. It's a blessing if you can get the help of an angel. Otherwise, it's just as foolish to mess with one.”

“Why'd you even sell your soul in the first place?” He had overheard some of this, but wanted to hear it directly too.

“Because I had managed to destroy the whole world and wanted to undo it,” he said, some of his coldness coming back. “It was just blackness, me and something else that said it could restore the world in exchange for my soul. And it kept reviving the world as long as I asked, although it tried to convince me not to.”

“Sounds bad enough, but is there any way you can get out of this? Wouldn't want to disappoint your mom, right?”

“Right, but I’m not sure how to handle that now,” Frisk said. “I can keep working towards the goal I had, but we'll just have to see where it goes from there.”

There had to be something he could do. But figuring that out would take more research. “That may be the best for now. What's the immediate plan?”

“Alphys and I are getting together a jetpack so I can get a satellite booster and receiver outside the mountain,” he explained. “From there, we can connect to the human internet. I have some things I need outside contact for, and we were going to use it to help with the ghosts. But with there just being two more out there, we might not need the connection for that.”

“We could use the connection to initiate contact between humans and monsters,” Sans said, as the first thing he thought of. “It'd be better than just showing up out there without warning.”

He nodded. “Right. Then there's finding and pacifying those last two ghosts, after which we can focus on the barrier problem. Also, Undyne told me that Asgore wanted to ask me about something, so that might need to be worked into my plans too.”

“You're taking on a lot of work for something that won't benefit you for a while,” he said.

“Does it matter what I benefit from this?” he asked, some passion from within pulling him back out of restrained cold. “It must be done.”

Sans felt the honesty in the boy's words. It was a quality from his soul that was clear even if it wasn't his own. While monsters could sense such things, most didn't learn to do so consciously. Sans knew; it was a warm pure tone, albeit with a determination that could ignite the spirits of others. If his observations of Alphys' readings yesterday were interpreted right, that could be exactly what Frisk was doing just in talking to him and other monsters.

Chuckling, he said, “And here I was afraid of what you were doing down here when I first heard that you were back. But I believe you now.” He just hoped that Frisk would find some blessing to escape his situation. “This is just out of curiosity, but what are you going with the other souls? How are you going to bring them home?”

“Well I still don’t know what to do about Flowey,” Frisk said. “The other six I’ve had a plan for and it’s working out so far. I’ve been putting them to sleep into dolls so they aren’t aware of things while we’re working out the barrier problem. Once I can get back to the surface, I’ll contact a priest or priestess to see about holding a funeral ceremony for them. If we can locate their homes and family, we might take them to visit, but it’s been so long that who knows what is left for them. The ceremony will send them on to the Earth Mother, who will prepare them for their next lives.”

Sans was getting a creeping feeling that someone other than Flowey was also watching them. As they had a normal aura to them, it wasn’t anyone as dangerous as the flower. Maybe one of the natives? Keeping that feeling at the back of his skull, he added, “Do they go on to an actual place at the ceremony or is it metaphysical?”

“There are some places where you can go speak with the dead who have been sent on but haven’t fully forgotten their old lives,” Frisk said. “A few cultures have ancestral spirits linger on to help advise their successors, but not everyone follows such practices.”

“We monsters have our souls fade upon death, so any funerals are for the survivors,” Sans said, glancing around. There, he finally saw something, a blue bonnet that was off in the air slowly moving towards them. He held a hand up. “Hang on, we’ve got a plane on the wing.”

“A what?” Frisk asked, puzzled.

But as he thought, a Tsunderplane shot back and upwards so it could talk to them on eye level. She had a six-foot wing span and jets to fly about on. “I’m not eavesdropping, I’m, I’m on the Neighborhood Watch making sure there’s no perverted hoodlums around! Don’t be acting so suspicious!” She then zoomed away elsewhere in Hotland.

It must have been another monster Frisk forgot about, because his mouth was slightly open for a moment. “Was that really a living airplane with a frilly bonnet?”

“Yup, that’s a Tsunderplane,” Sans said. “They’re infamous around here for being so contrary that it’s a headache to work out what they really mean.”

He was still confused, understandably so. “But she was an airplane! There weren’t any airplanes when you all were sealed under the mountain. And there’s more than one? How’d they come about?”

After thinking about it a moment, he answered, “I could give you the goofy answer, but you’re probably more interested in the real answer. Well, right now we have an overpopulation issue that crops up often due to the limited spaces we have down here.”

“I hardly ran into anyone when I was walking through Waterfall,” Frisk said.

“That’s Undyne’s fault for warning people away,” Sans said. “One thing we’re worried about, especially since a pair of judges got killed off recently, is that when overpopulation reaches a certain point, there’s a much greater chance that monsters with unstable minds or personalities will snap and kill off others. Judges like me are supposed to track down such dangerous elements and eliminate them by any means possible. But it’s not easy work. Reime, the woman who taught me, hasn’t been able to track down the most dangerous monster in the capitol even though we keep finding ashes from their victims.

“Sometimes, the outbreaks involve so many that we end up with very low numbers. Last time that happened was around fifty years ago. When that happens, sometimes new monsters will pop in spontaneously. We don’t entirely understand how, or why the new forms are formed like they are. In that last drop, Tsundereplane was one of the new ones. I personally think that human ideas still have an influence over what monsters look like.”

“Ah, and thus you get a living plane down here,” Frisk said. “That’s interesting. I know when it comes to summoning, the form of the monster comes from the summoner’s mind unless they’re using a method involving items like carved figurines to make something specific.”

“You know a lot about that?” he asked.

He nodded. “Of course, I had to study the Delta branch of magic in order to better my control over it and other high magic runes. Summoning is one of the main uses of Delta magic, although summoning self-aware monsters has been illegal ever since the war a thousand years ago.” He scratched his head. “Actually, you remember how I didn’t want to talk about what was on that wall? It’s because it dealt with summoning rituals and how humans used monsters in the past. I think I could talk about it with you and Alphys, but I had a feeling that it would be disturbing to tell Cinna about. At least his parents might be unhappy with me talking about it.”

“That seems like a good call,” Sans said, making a mental note to add this to Frisk’s reports. He was able to empathize enough that he held off on saying something that might hurt another. Although, now that he was thinking it, it was curious that he could do this when someone else should be controlling him. Maybe they were holding the strings loosely for now. “Actually, about that odd language,” he did some magical slight-of-hand to get his current journal. “These are my notes from this loop and about twenty before this one. I’m not going to show you all of it, but something in that language popped up in it. Can you read it?”

“Sure,” Frisk said, looking over his shoulder bones so San could keep the rest of the notes blocked off with another paper. “It’s from Baphomet. ‘You managed to complete and pass your first test, but have forgotten what the test was about. Too bad. But there’s still a chance. The second test involves the time rifts in Waterfall. Closing just one won’t do.’ You know, they told me at the lake that I had passed my first test but didn’t even give me a hint on the second. Except maybe in throwing me and Undyne straight into the one rift.”

“What was your first test?”

“Finding the golden chronograph. They meant for me to try taking it for myself, but I couldn’t do that to you now.”

Sans tapped his jaw. “Do they mean to have us close those rifts? That seems strange.”

Frisk nodded in agreement. “Right, most demons are all for anarchy, corruption, and anything that could make life difficult for others. They’re up to something, but then again, leaving those time rifts be doesn’t seem like a good option either. There’s still time we need to negotiate with Ebott City to find you all a new home and get other humans to accept you again.”

“If they’re willing to wait through hundreds of years in time loops, we shouldn’t need to work on this right away,” Sans agreed. “Let’s go in and see if we can’t help Alphys until Asgore is awake to talk too.”

And it was a good thing they decided to go in then because they had to distract Undyne from doing something that would turn the jetpack into a bomb.

* * *

 

Tomoe the Tsunderplane had not fully flown on. Instead, she slipped back in lower to try overhearing them again. Unfortunately, she didn’t get long to do so before they went back inside. The door here wasn’t wide enough to accommodate her. Though she could bank a full 90 degrees to try getting in that way. Except, that’d be very awkward and she didn’t like banking that far. She could shrink down, but then she’d be tiny and she hated being tiny.

“I didn’t know humans could be so handsome like that,” she murmured to herself, rising back to being level with the path. “He’s so mysterious and smart… and, he must have a darker side too if one of the judges is questioning him! Oh, but he is human, so I shouldn’t be getting close to him. It’s like the ultimate forbidden romance… no, I’m not going to do it. I won’t. I’ll just, keep watching him. Yeah. Make sure he isn’t trouble. But I can’t do that while he’s inside. Aaaah, what do I do?”

Then a strange feeling crept over her, a chill like she was being watched by someone who saw her as idiotic. Like someone who would kill her.

“Um, maybe I’ll circle around higher, wait for when he comes out,” Tomoe said to herself. “If he’s going to Waterfall, he’ll probably use the ferry. But, it won’t be easy hiding in the ferryperson’s passage. Okay, I’ll go to the Waterfall stop and find a place to hover there! Yeah, that makes sense.” She took off to make good on her plan.

* * *

 

The Tsunderplane was gone. On the path by the lab, Flowey popped out of the ground. “What a nutcase,” he grumbled. “What do you even see in him? Hmph. Though, there’s an actual place where you can speak to human souls? That could be interesting. How would I get there? Do you know?” He looked at his Chara doll. She was just a doll right now, but maybe her voice could still reach him?

“You can’t from here,” Baphomet said.

Flowey wasn’t even surprised at the demon popping up out of nowhere now. “Of course not, we’re sealed off,” he said. “Well I’ve got to figure something out.”

“I could get you there,” Baphomet said.

“And for what purpose?” Flowey asked darkly, trying to be intimidating. Although now that he’d heard about it, he really wanted to see one of those places. “You aren’t going to be doing something for nothing.”

“Couldn’t I be making this offer just to see what would happen?” Baphomet said, smiling. “I’ve lived a lot of time. Doing my own thing isn’t nearly as interesting as watching others.”

“You’re crazy, but then everyone is crazy,” Flowey said. “All right, fine, I don’t trust you, but I want to see if this place really exists.”

“Is that so? All right, let’s get going.” They held a hand out and lifted Flowey out of the ground without touching him. As he growled at that, the scenery around them blurred to black.

* * *

 

By the time Asgore was awake, they had gotten the jetpack design modified and built. Frisk got out his satellite booster and gave it to Alphys so she could figure out a relay system. Sans decided to help out Alphys while Undyne came in to join the discussion. While the king looked better now, he still seemed worn down. Asgore wanted to talk about him being a summoner as well.

It even included some information that Frisk hadn’t read about. “I knew it was possible to empower a monster by them forming a contract with a human summoner, but I didn’t know contact alone could do the same thing.”

“It wouldn’t be as much as a contract, but we haven’t been in contact with humans for centuries,” Asgore said, then took a sip of his tea. “Since you do have that kind of influence, I was hoping that you could do something to help calm the people in the city down. If you’re willing to break the barrier for us, we don’t need to have war with humans even if people want it. We have to convince them not to want war and your influence could help in that.”

“Sure, I’ll give it a shot,” Frisk said. “We’re going to set up a connection to the human internet so we can contact people on the outside. Though it’s not like we can just contact a member of the global council, or even the Ebbot city council easily. We’ll have to figure out how to get that contact started.”

They got a number of things discussed on how to handle talking with other humans and get the other monsters to accept him. At one point, his chronograph hummed out of nowhere. Having heard that it was a bad sign, Frisk was worried about what happened. He didn’t notice time going back or a part of the conversation repeating.

Not long after that, Sans and Alphys came back in. “Did you notice something happen?” Frisk asked him quietly as Alphys explained to Asgore how to arrange the relay system.

“It was nothing but felt like a tiny shift backwards,” Sans said. “Maybe just a couple of seconds.”

“We can see what the computers here noticed.” Before they could do that, though, Alphys mentioned she was curious about the writing in Waterfall. Asgore was certain that it and the portrait of Baphomet were not a part of the murals in the Hall of History. Frisk was able to use the lab’s cameras to look over it again and translate for them.

* * *

 

-original writings in the Hall of History

A monster with a human soul: a horrible beast with unfathomable power.

-additional writings in the Hall of History

In times long past, these gods were awakened from monsters, such as Baphomet. Monsters were originally summoned by humans to help them survive the chaos of wars between the forces of heaven and hell. Master summoners among the humans could bring about powerful monsters that exceed the imaginations of monsters today. However, most monsters were not summoned with such skill and were of lesser powers.

The absorption of human souls by monsters was discovered on accident. The resulting power was desired for the monsters to face angels and demons on equal grounds. In some societies, the sacrifice of humans to create monster guardians for the rest of the community took place. Monsters created by such sacrifice were often unstable emotionally and mentally. It took a human summoner to keep such blood gods in check.

The humans eventually won their independence from angels and demons, sending the warring factions away from world. That left the blood gods as the most powerful beings on the planet. As time went on, they began wars with each other to see whose nation was supreme. Sometimes it was the monsters leading; sometimes it was the humans. Sometimes it was the influence of angels or demons trying to gain a foothold back in the world. History records many such struggles long before war pitted humans against monsters.

But what happened to the monster gods of the conquered nations? Some were sealed away from the world just like the demons and angels before them. Some became demons or angels out of sheer power. Some accepted their place in a conquered nation with lessened power. Finally, some fled out to the corners of the wilderness out of hatred for humanity, creating lands where humans were not allowed to step foot into.

What we do know is that all monsters lost power within the world as the humans kept growing their own. Eventually, none of the monster gods were left in power and humanity turned on us to keep us from producing another to save ourselves.


	26. Dare to be Dere

When things cleared up, Flowey and Baphomet were in another cave. But it didn’t look like anywhere in the underground of Mt. Ebott. It was kind of like the glowing swamp of Waterfall, except it was a much brighter pale green with white and gray stone walls. A wide river flowered between two banks and faint glowing forms like hearts were drifting in the air.

“This is the place souls go after death?” Flowey asked. It didn’t seem that inviting.

“It’s just the entrance,” Baphomet said. “We can’t warp in any further. There’s a ferry that takes the souls further in. You’re looking for Chara, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, so she’d be further in because it’s been a few years,” Flowey said.

“There is something I should warn you of,” Baphomet said. “I’m only here because the ferry isn’t. They don’t take kindly to my kind here; they won’t like you either because of your high LOVE. The one running the ferry, Charon, probably won’t accept you on board. And if you do manage to get further in, there will be angels.”

“What’s so bad about angels?” Flowey asked. They were the ultimate goody-two-shoes who dressed in white and liked to sing.

“They’re powerful and unreasonable,” Baphomet said. “Take care; I’ll be hiding around here for when you want to leave this place.” They then melted away into a shadow and disappeared into the wall.

Except, he was outside of the barrier and he could now go anywhere in the world he wanted. That was something to consider. But first, Chara. If the ferry person here wouldn’t take him further in, then the solution was easy enough. He burrowed into the ground and followed the river. His roots could sense the water, and so it was no trouble.

Since he didn’t know this area as well, he had to poke up out of the wall every so often to see where he was. There were points where the river filled the tunnel wall to wall. Eventually, it did lead to another cavern. This one was even stranger as one side he couldn’t even see into. It wasn’t anything he could describe, just nothing. He couldn’t even burrow over there, but he did see one soul enter that area.

There was one being in the area he could see: it looked like a ragged cloak with black wings and a fiery glow within its chest. There was something odd about it as he burrowed closer, a feeling like he was coming close to the sun in a painful way. But it was here and he needed to know things. He popped up by it. “Howdy!” he said, trying to be cute.

He was immediately jerked out of the ground and hurled into the water. He sputtered and splashed his roots although he couldn’t drown like a normal creature. But wasn’t this getting his Chara doll wet? Angry about that, he got it in his roots and tried to put it above the water. It was already wet, but hopefully it wouldn’t be ruined.

As quickly as he had been dunked, he was yanked back out and left to hang in the air. “What are you doing here? You’re disturbing the souls of the dead.”

“What do you think you’re dong just snatching a person and hurling them in the water?!” Flowey challenged. “You are way rude.”

“You’re an evil creature with no sign of remorse in your broken soul,” it said. “Beings like you are to be given no mercy.”

“I have no soul,” he said with a snarl.

“You do,” it said. “I have no eyes; I only see souls. I see yours.”

“What are you?” he demanded to know.

“An angel of death,” it said.

It could probably kill him instantly, if the massive power of light was any indication. But it hadn’t, so there was a chance. “Well you soaked my doll! I only came looking to talk to a soul of a human girl named Chara Dreemur. Can you call her out to make up for messing up my doll?”

“You are worried about that doll?” the angel said as if was trivial. “And Chara Dreemur? She was healed by the Earth Mother a few years back and became newborn again. She spent so long in the world after her death that she was taken directly to Her. There’s no way to speak with her now.”

“What, are you kidding me?!” Flowey snapped, shaking with anger. “This is not fair.”

“I’ll fix the doll,” the angel said, making it glow. And it not only dried the doll out, it improved it to look less like a raggy doll made of threads and more like a very tiny human. “Now, there is something that you can tell me. You should be dead, seems like your death was a century ago. What are you doing alive?”

Flowey didn’t like the idea of cooperating with this jerk angel. But on the other hand, he saw an opportunity to get someone else in trouble. “I didn’t choose to become an itty-bitty flower; who would? One of the other monsters, a nerdy girl named Dr. Alphys, found the flower that my soul had gotten absorbed into and pumped it full of determination extracted from human souls. That let me come back to life.”

“Was she the one who gave you a chronograph?”

“No, I got that from the demon Baphomet, and it’s broken anyhow,” Flowey said.

“Chronographs are terrible artifacts that should be eliminated,” the angel said. “And you have disturbed the souls of the dead long enough. Be gone.”

He was immediately burned with intense light, a magical attack that filled his awareness so completely that there was no escape. So this was how he was going to die, obliterated by an angel. It was just right, there really was no getting back to Chara… even thinking that, there was a powerful desire to keep living and not die. But he couldn’t turn time backwards…

Time went backwards anyhow and he found himself back in the entrance area of the river of the dead with Baphomet hanging out nearby. “Well that went poorly, as expected,” Baphomet said.

“Then why the hell did you bring me here?!” Flowey demanded.

“I don’t think you would’ve believed me if I told you straight,” hey said. “Besides, it was funnier this way.”

“You’re horrible,” he said, checking on his doll. Surprisingly, it was in the more realistic form that the angel had given her. No, more so, she had exactly the same kind of sweet smile and friendly eyes that he remembered her having (when she wasn’t joking around and pretending to be creepy).

“I don’t expect you to thank me for bringing you back,” they said. “But you want to find Chara? You’ll have to go for even riskier methods to do so.”

“I thought if I could steal one of the other chronographs, I could go back to that time,” Flowey said.

“And get beyond the limitations presented by physicality? That’s a possibility. But there’s more certainty if you were to use time rifts to reach other possible timelines.”

He looked up at them, surprised by that idea. “Really, do that?”

Baphomet nodded. “Time rifts are scars of time, fragments of histories that were erased when time manipulators like us turn time backwards. Sometimes they even link to times that never took place but could have. You can find a timeline in there where Chara did not die during your plot to destroy the barrier and wage war on humanity.”

“That could work,” Flowery said.

“Then let’s go to that part of Waterfall,” they said, then plucked them back up and warped them back to the underground of Mount Ebott. “Here you go.”

“Hey, quit doing that!” Flowey shouted.

Baphomet smirked at him, then faded back into shadows.

Well, now he was here, with strange tears stretching through the air. One of these could lead him back to Chara. But, which one?

* * *

"I’ve marked the lab’s map with where the relay tower should be set up,” Alphys told him. “If you use your illumination spell, you shouldn't have a problem avoiding obstacles. Just make sure it's at full charge when you return.”

“Got it,” Frisk said. It was just the two of them right now. Sans had gone back home last night to do more translations on his journals, while Undyne had left with Asgore some time ago. With all the work that went into planning this network and making the hardware, it was getting late in the day. But they felt they could accomplish this task while there was sunlight outside.

He took the ferry to Waterfall, reviewing his route for the takeoff point and relay tower spot to Old Lookout. The cloaked person was lighthearted this time, singing a song about a monster called a Temmie. Or maybe about a monster named Temmie, it was hard to tell just from the bit Frisk heard. Once at the ferry stop, he had to head towards the main residential area to find a path back to the glowing swamp, then take that path back around to reach the upper areas where the relay tower would go. It was a long way around. But since he didn't have a tagalong, there were enough wide open tunnels to use Fleetfoot to make things much faster and shorter.

At least, he thought he didn't have a tagalong. The sound of jets proved him wrong. Frisk got to where the relay tower should be in the glowing swamp and she had managed to keep up. So he turned and looked where she was flying across the swamp. “Is that you from yesterday?” he asked.

“H-huh, you noticed?!” she asked. Even though she was an airplane, she blushed at that before getting angry. “We-well of course I did! Don't try to hide it from me, weirdo, I know you're a human! So I’m gonna keep a close eye on you to make sure you're not trouble, yeah!”

“I won't be,” he said, though he figured it wasn't that likely to work. But he might as well be friendly. “Who are you?”

“Hmph, how rude can you be?" she countered. “Don't go asking for a lady's name before you've given your own!”

His image of a lady didn't include airplanes, but that didn't matter. “Sorry. I'm Frisk. And what's your name?”

“Tomoe,” she answered. “And just what are you doing out here?”

“Setting up a relay tower for Dr. Alphys,” he said, bringing out his tablet to call his supplies out of storage. “Sorry, but I can't chat while I put this together.”

“Hmph.” She circled around the swamp, sometimes hovering in place like normal airplanes couldn't do. The whole while, she did keep an eye on him. But she wasn't a bother, so he ignored her.

Using estimates from the lab, he set up the receiver dish to where the signal from Old Viewpoint should come. He could tweak that for maximum clarity when he returned. When it came to setting up the dish aimed at the lab, he used his tablet to tap into the network and make sure there was a good steady signal that way. He did get interrupted by something in the reeds making an odd sound, something like 'uwawawa.'

Frisk glanced up from his work. “Is someone else around?”

“Hoi!” something yelled, then hurled itself out of the reeds and onto the wooden walkway. This monster was odd in a different way than the Tsunderplane, being a mammalian not quite a dog but not quite a cat with a human-like face and hair. “I'm Temmie!”

“Oh, hello Temmie,” Frisk said; it twitched in response. “What kind of monster are you?”

“Temmie is Temmie!” it replied. Her? The voice at least seemed feminine. “And youse humannnnnn...”

“Hey, what're you doing around here?” Tomoe demanded, having flown over angrily.

Temmie was shaking even more, strangely to the point where its face seemed to be slipping off. “Are you okay Temmie?” Frisk asked.

“Get away from him, he's,” Tomoe stammered a bit, then rallied back with, “he's dangerous, go away already!”

However, Temmie kept her eyes on him and squeaked like a pet's toy. “Oooo, such a.... CUTE!” She then tackled him and knocked him onto the walkway.

At least it didn't kill him, but his back still hurt. “Ow, hey watch it,” Frisk said. Temmie giggled in response.

“Hey, get off him you hussy!” Tomoe demanded, doing a quick flyby of the Temmie.

“Can't believe Temmie got to see real live human!” she said, ignoring the Tsunderplane. “Can has pets?”

Frisk wasn't quite sure what she meant, but neither thing he could think of seemed good. “No, thank you. I'm trying to do some work here.”

“Yeah, so quit your dumb act and go home!”

At least Temmie hopped off him, hovering in the air. “Noooo, want to watch cute human do cute things!”

“Buzz off, he's not cute, he's,” she caught herself from saying something, then redirected her words, “I'm the cute one here! It's even in my kind's name, see? Tsunderplane. There's dere in it and that means cute. So I'm cute.”

Airplanes didn't figure into Frisk's sense of cute either, but given that that name also had 'tsun' in it, he figured it was best not to argue with her too much. Since the Temmie Temmie was off him, he picked himself back up and went back to securing the dish. Though he had to readjust and recheck it since he'd been knocked over while holding a part of it.

“Dere is cute?” Temmie asked.

“Yes, of course it is!” Tomoe said. “Now scat not-cat! I'm the only watchmonster needed around here to make sure he's not causing trouble.”

“Ooo, dere cute,” Temmie said. Then she managed to begin dancing around in mid-air. “Dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere dere!”

“Quit that, that's just being crazy!” The two of them kept arguing while he finished the installation of the relay tower. Along with that, he placed a sign explaining what it was and that it belonged to the Hotland laboratory.

“Well that's done,” he said, getting their attention as he stood back up again.

“Oh, then, you come to Temmie Village?' Temmie asked. “Great place, yah, must see!”

“Not right now, I have more work to do,” he said.

“Ahhwaawaawaa,” she said sadly, tilting her cat-like ears down.

“I can visit later, when I’ve made sure this works well,” Frisk said. Alphys needed time to review his work and he did need to speak to the monsters about not going to war. Although, he felt that the Temmies, if they were anything like this one, would be more than happy to go along with that already.

“What, are you seriously going to visit a town full of these airheads psychos?” Tomoe asked as the Temmie whirled around in excitement. “Or do you like that rough play of being knocked down? You sicko.”

“No, and I have no idea what gave you that idea,” he said, bringing out the jetpack. “I’ll just have to be careful when I do visit. Anyhow, time to fly.”

“Whoa, humans can fly?” Temmie asked.

“No, I've just got a jetpack to fly for me,” Frisk said, checking it over before putting it on.

“Well if you're trying to impress me, you're in no such luck,” Tomoe said in an insistent way. “Those aren't even your jets, mine are way better.”

“You do fly well to have followed me earlier,” he said.

“Eek, you are a freaking sicko, don't say that!” Although she was growling (somehow), she was again blushing.

“Are you stalking me out of a crush or something?” Frisk asked, not sure how he felt about being crushed on by a living plane.

“N-no way, there's absolutely positively no way in heaven and earth that I would have a crush on you!” Tomoe said. “What would even make you think that? You just have romance on your mind all the time or something? What a waste. I already told you, weirdo, I’m keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't cause trouble!'

“All right, I believe you,” he said, getting the jetpack on and secured. “No need to make a big fuss out of it.”

“Humans are a cutes,” Temmie told Tomoe. “Humandere! No way could dere cutes be troubles, no way!”

“Well you are trouble, I can tell that much,” Tomoe said. “So you must not be cute, there!”

“Aaah, noes no noes! Temmie are way cute. Tem cutes like plane not cutes.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You're both cute in your own ways, please don't fight about it,” Frisk said. “It's better to be civil.”

However, this just made Temmie twitch repeatedly in spazzing out. “Aaaaaa, humans says Tems cute too! So happys, dies.” She then flipped herself over on her back in an over-dramatic death play, keeping a huge grin on her face.

But it was clear from her body staying coherent that she was just playing, not actually dead. Unfortunately, another monster in the area didn't see the joke. “Don't you be dying here!” a strange little monster like a water tank with a duck floating on top called. He waddled over while carrying a broom. “That would be way too big of a mess, take your humorous death sequence elsewhere.”

“Oh, okays,” Temmie said, turning herself back upright. “Can't no die anyhow, gonna see a human fly!”

The new monster stopped by the tower and looked it over critically. “And what's with this thing? Is it going to make a mess? It's already enough work keeping these walkways clean when everybody keeps walking all over them all day and all night.”

“It shouldn't make a mess, and I tried not to be too messy setting it up,” Frisk said, although the monster was already sweeping away the sawdust from securing the tower. Now that he could look around, he saw a few others hanging back on other parts of the walkways. Undyne really had cleared out this area the other day. “Who are you?”

“I'm Woshua, just Woshua,” he said, still sweeping. “I keep this part of Waterfall clean, can't have any icky dirt, dust, or grime about.”

Magic would create monsters to address the needs of the residents here, Frisk thought. Though he wasn't sure what the purpose of the Tsunderplane was. Or the Temmie. “Ah. Oh, but if you do clean around this relay tower, please don't move the dishes here out of place. We need them for a clear signal. And like the sign warns, be careful because there's electrical parts that could shock you.”

“Don't worry, I have cleaning tools for every job,” Woshua said, sending the broom away and bringing out a feather duster in order to dust off the tower.

Frisk had the jetpack secured, so he looked up towards the shaft of sunlight. The missing walkway that led up to Old Viewpoint was nearby. Hopefully, there were no time rifts in the air between here and the Viewpoint. That would be trouble to work around with these relays. Seeing nothing immediately to worry about, he brought out an illumination ball to fly just ahead of him, added a booster spell to the jetpack to lessen its fuel consumption, then turned it on and took off from the walkway. The Temmie cooed and followed along after him; the Tsunderplane grumbled and followed as well.

For a few moments, he was able to see the pathway to the viewpoint. Strange cracks laced all through the air of that path; it would be hard to walk it and avoid all of those rifts. What had caused all that? Maybe Sans' old journals from his father, or even himself, held the answer to that question. Frisk had also been wondering what Sans' first test had been, if he'd been sent to find the silver chronograph he held. But those would all have to be answered later. This relay system addressed immediate needs and gave the monsters a vital channel with which to negotiate what would happen in the future peacefully.

On the other side, the lookout area seemed fine, at least in terms of the stone floor. The wooden rails blocking off the long drop into Abyssal Lake looked rotted, broken in a few places from lack of care. A sign near the edge was moldy, but the words carved onto it could be made out: ‘Enjoy a fantastic view of the magical swamps of Waterfall from this wondrous Viewpoint. Update: This is now the Old Viewpoint, as the New Viewpoint on the opposite side of the swamp gives a completely different and equally fantastic view!’

More noticeably, there was a strong influx of sunlight coming from a break in the wall. The rubble on the floor and some cracks along the wall hinted that this thin part of the mountain had collapsed at some point, probably after the path had been cut off. It was a large enough hole that Tsundereplane could fly carefully through it; the rubble was weathered enough that he could easily walk over it to check on the area outside.

“Whoa, is this the outsides?” Temmie murmured in awe. “Can we go see humans?”

“Well the barrier…” Frisk started to say, but then he noticed that there seemed to be some people on the other end of this small tunnel. It was just bright enough with the sunlight that he hadn’t seen them well coming from the darkness of Waterfall.

“Aaaa, more humans!” Temmie called out and rushed ahead. Unfortunately, she slammed headfirst into the barrier, causing it to flash gray before it settled into an almost transparent state. “Ooo.”

“Aaaa, what’s that?” a girl said. Something about her seemed familiar. Could it be one of them?

“Is it okay?” another girl said.

“Tems be okays, oog, Temmie thinks so,” she said.

Frisk cast the healing spell he knew over her. “Careful there,” he said. Now that his eyes adjusted to the sight of sunlight again, he noticed that they looked familiar too: a girl with cat ears and a tail, a more normal girl (for a degree of normal given that she wore a worn jean jacket with pointed studs in it), and an old man dressed as a forest ranger. All of them? But he’d not met any of them this loop. His throat tensed up as he stopped a couple feet from the barrier.

“Hello, what are you doing behind the barrier, young man?” Joachim said.

“Oh my gosh, it’s him!” Jenna said, her tail stiffening in surprise.

“Yeah, it’s you!” Jackie said. “Um, who’re you? And what’re you doing with our dreams?”

“I’m not doing anything with dreams as far as I’m aware,” Frisk said. Maybe they remembered more strongly? Undyne had mentioned something about having feelings of deja vu on seeing him. “You can call me Frisk.”

“Oo, Frisk has funs name,” Temmie said, having recovered enough to start hovering again. “Ooo, so many cutes humans!”

“And, well this is Temmie,” he said. “I think Tomoe the Tsuderplane was following us too. And, you?” He had to hold back on saying their names.

“But you seem like a guy we’ve both been having weird dreams about,” Jenna said. “Well, um, I’m Jenna, and this is Jackie, and um, this ranger just came up to us.”

“Joachim,” he said. “I was going to take these girls out of here because this is a restricted area. But there is something odd going about, because you seem familiar to me somehow as well.”

“Well you really shouldn’t be out here, it’s dangerous,” Frisk said. “The mountainside is full of invisible ledges, as well as areas that will crumble and start a rockfall at the slightest provocation. If you come any further here, you’ll be able to get in but then you’ll be stuck with me.” He stepped forward and put his hand on the barrier. Since he didn’t ram into it, it merely caused a gray area to form around it until he pulled back. “And there’s only three bathrooms down here that humans can use, so you really don’t want to get stuck down here.”

“Then what are you doing in there?” Jenna asked, worried. “Did you get lost?”

He shook his head “No, I came down here on a mission. Six human children got lost down here and died decades ago. Their souls have been trapped in here and I mean to get them back to the surface. Which means I am going to be breaking the barrier, but we’re still early in the process.”

“Whoa, breaking this barrier?” Jackie asked, impressed. “But it’s an ancient masterwork!”

“Are you sure that’s the right thing to be doing?” Joachim asked. “The last time monsters were in the world, there was a large-scale war with them.”

“That was mostly the fault of humans,” Frisk explained. “The monsters weren’t able to truly fight against us once we turned against them.”

“Monsters are goods peoples, lots of good monsters!” Temmie added. “There’s Temmie, and Temmie, and Temmie, and Tem, and Temmie, and Bob, and...”

It might help convince them that she at least was harmless, Frisk thought. “Uh, Temmie’s kind of, well, different. But she is right in that the monsters I’ve met are good people. One of them is a wonderful older lady who took me in like her own son, and nearly every other monster I’ve met has been kind and helpful. There have been a few bad ones, but it’s a small minority and they’re the exceptions to the rule.”

“Bad monsters not monsters, bad monsters bad baddies,” Temmie said.

“And they’ve been here a thousand years too,” Frisk said. “No humans have come to see if things could be worked out peaceably before me. There are very few of them remaining from the days of that war; off the top of my head, I can only thing of one I’ve met and one I’ve heard of. And the one I met welcomed me warmly and wants to settle matters peacefully now.”

“Well, everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves, right?” Jenna asked, a little nervous in saying so. “So, yeah, can’t we try?”

“Hmm, it’s hard to say no if they are offering things peacefully,” Joachim said, more thoughtful on it. “But we need to be able to talk with them.”

Frisk nodded and brought out his tablet. “I know, and I’m actually working on something to help that. I brought a couple of signal boosters that can communicate with satellites, so that the human internet can be accessed down here. They’ve managed to backwards engineer their own version of the internet down here, we just need to get this booster out there and set to relay signals to the towers I’ve got to install here. Could you help me with that?”

“If it’s not too hard,” Jenna said.

“It shouldn’t be,” Frisk said, checking over the booster before tossing it over to her. “It has legs that it should extend automatically to secure itself to the ground, but we need to have it sending the signal this way.” He had to go back in to set up the second relay tower up here to communicate with the one on the walkway. Meanwhile, the three of them were able to get the booster itself set in place outside the tunnel.

After he’d checked on the signal and got a confirmation from Alphys that she could get it in the lab, Frisk went back over to talk with his old friends. Jenna was crouched just outside the barrier, waving at the Temmie who was waving back in some game. Jackie asked again, “Are you sure you’re not doing anything weird with our dreams? Because we came out here trying to figure out what was going on and we knew it involved a guy who looks exactly like you.”

“It’s too complicated to get into right now, but I can manipulate time,” Frisk said. “That’s probably why you know me without knowing me. Because actually, I recognized you immediately once my eyes adjusted. Sorry, but I wasn’t sure how much you might remember.”

“I don’t think time is one of those things you can manipulate even with magic,” Jackie said. “Right? Because that be, well, um...”

“It’s very dangerous magic to know and use,” Joachim said. “I know about it, but I don’t know any time manipulation magic myself.”

“When you can manipulate time, it’s really easy to think you can get away with anything,” Frisk said. “Because to a degree, you can, and undo any time you get caught or mess up. I got completely wrecked doing that entirely by my own fault, so I’m doing all I can to make a better future. You’re probably feeling some side effects of my actions because you’ve had a lot of contact with me in a time you don’t remember. In a way, I’m really glad that it led you all to be out here when I was working on this.”

“That sounds crazy, but I feel like it’s the truth,” Jackie said, looking down and sounding unsure of something. Maybe she almost remembered what she’d felt for him? It made Frisk feel guilty about it.

Joachim rubbed his chin. “That must be a reason you girls decided to come out this day, and that I decided to come further in on today’s patrol. If this is all leading up to allowing the monsters to go free, we’re already involved. So then, is there anything else we can do for this effort?”

Frisk smiled at that. “Thanks for offering. Actually, you have a lot of contacts being a sage, don’t you Joachim? Is there any way you can get contact with a government authority, or an ambassador who’d be willing to talk with the monsters? I have met the king of monsters and will be able to put such an ambassador in contact with him. Also, I have an email account that can access the human internet, so we could exchange addresses again to talk with each other as well.”

“Maybe not as many as I used to since I retired from big authority like that,” Joachim said. “But I could get things in motion. And you girls could help by talking with your friends at school and around the city.”

“About accepting the monsters?” Jenna asked, pausing in her silent game with Temmie.

The old ranger nodded. “Yes, since if this works out, your generation will be growing up with monsters back in the world. You may as well do all you can to get others positive about it and looking forward to such a partnership again.”

“It might help if we could talk to a few more monsters ourselves,” Jackie said. “But sure, that sounds interesting.”

“We’ll figure out a way to arrange such talks later because we do plan to keep this connection as low-key as we can,” Frisk said. “There’s still some elements of the monsters that need to be convinced to come back peacefully, but I’m sure I can handle that.”

They had to use paper airplanes made of notebook paper in order to exchange contact information with the barrier there, but he had found his old friends and mentor again. This was looking much more doable, making Frisk feel eager to keep things going now. However, when he checked on the signal to the lab again, there was a notice from Alphys’ account that did not seem to be from her. ‘Say goodbye to your nerdy friend because we’ve got her now. We’re gonna go execute Alphys at the capitol’s grand stadium and there’s nothing you can do about it. Loser.’

His blood went cold at that. “Man, Undyne’s gonna kill whoever did this,” he mumbled.

“What, what’s going on?” Temmie asked. For some reason, Tomoe was nowhere to be seen.

“Something very bad,” Frisk said. Did he have Undyne’s contact number? Even though she would get outraged, she’d be even madder if he failed to let her know. He couldn’t message her, but he could message another of her friends. ‘Papyrus, can you get a message to Undyne for me? Someone’s apparently kidnapped Alphys and is threatening to execute her at a grand stadium somewhere in the capitol. She has to know about it immediately.’

He got a return message not even a minute later. ‘Oh no, that’s horrible! I’ll call Undyne right away!’

Was this the reckless portion of the restless monsters? It was the only thing that made sense. “I wonder if I can get there in time,” Frisk said.

“Good lucks, goodbyes, and don’t forget to visit Tem Village!” Temmie said, rushing off across the chasm herself.

“Thanks,” Frisk said, making a check on he jetpack and recharging it so he could get across and hurry to meet with the ferryperson.


	27. Possibilities of the Past

Did it matter which of the rifts he went into? Flowey grinned; he was going to leave behind this rotten history and find a way to make things as they should be! He’d still have to get someone else’s chronograph, but it would be done! He’d not considered the possibility of using other times before, but it was clear he wasn’t going to get what he really wanted by keeping time as it was.

Especially in this version of events. Toriel and Asgore still couldn’t help him but the former was becoming happy creating a new life for herself without him; the latter might be able to as well. Sans might actually be trouble now that he wasn’t being lazy, while Papyrus hadn’t acknowledged him last time he’d called out a greeting (sure sure, he was busy, but that wasn’t like him, that wasn’t Papyrus!). Alphys was getting confident (which shouldn’t be happening, she should remain broken and nervous and dorky and guilty forevermore!), and then Undyne wasn’t being completely blind to her idea of justice and justifying her actions so she was the heroine… nobody was how they should be! Why had they changed so much in the past seven years? People should always stay the same so that the solutions to their problems and the ways to manipulate them were always the same.

Because otherwise, Flowey didn’t understand the world as he thought he did. Which was completely wrong. He’d been through so much, he understood things! He did! Like so much was stacked against him now that there was no reason to bother trying any of his old methods. He was going to find the way to go all the way back and make sure the world because what he wanted it to be.

“Come on, Chara, we will fix the world this time around,” Flowey told her, holding her carefully in a curled up leaf. “That angel was wrong, Frisk was wrong, I don’t have a soul but I’m going to get mine back. You’re smart, you always know what to do. Which way do I go?”

He paused for a moment, looking at the doll in silence. But an answer came to him regardless.

“Of course it’s that one, you’ve got it,” he said. He burrowed over to one on the floor and dropped himself into it. “I will find you.”

* * *

When Flowey dropped into the rift, he felt like he was being torn apart. But this was gong to work; it had to work! His body pulled back together and he found himself floating in the air. Why not the ground? He stretched his roots out, but found that he didn’t have roots. Wait, what? He tried again but it was unnervingly like another situation where he found that he had no arms and legs, just leaves and roots. But he didn’t even have the leaves and roots this time.

Then he got jerked forward, bobbing like a balloon. “Hey, whose doing this?” he demanded. Looking around, he found that he was somehow trailing just over someone’s red scarf. A familiar white skull was near him. “Papyrus?”

Papyrus was in a good mood today. Good things had to happen! They already had since someone told the online troll who’d been bugging him with puns to knock it off. He’d offered to become friends with them over UnderNet, which could lead to them becoming friends offline too! Although, they hadn’t responded yet. But they surely would, they seemed nice. And maybe a human would come from the Ruins today; they always came from the Ruins for some reason, that’s what all the stories said. Then he’d get to capture them and everything would fall into place to put him where he should be in life!

“How am I hearing your thoughts?” Flowey asked. However, Papyrus kept walking along quickly. He checked on his poorly designed wooden gate; he checked on the massive door leading into the Ruins. And Flowey got bobbed along in following him. “Well, at least you’re how you should be here. But where’s Chara? Where are you? Where...” he realized the doll was no longer with him. “Hey, where are you?! Who took you?! They are going to get so much pain for this.”

For a moment, Papyrus thought someone was watching him from close by, just behind him. But when he turned, there was no one there. And no humans yet. One was bound to come along, though. They would come…

Something flickered and it was another day.

The humans were taking a while, but surely one would come and he could fulfill his dreams.

Another day… “Wait, what’s with this?” Flowey asked.

One would come, he would capture them, they’d be sent to the capitol, he would be made a member of the royal guard, everyone would adore him for capturing the last human they needed. One would come.

Another day… “I guess this is because it’s a broken piece of time?”

“...and I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning!” Papyrus declared, posing by his brother’s guard station.

They were skeletons so they were always grinning in a fashion, but Sans gave him an authentic smile. “You’ll get there. But if we have to wait, why not do something fun in the meantime?”

Another day…

A human would come… why were they taking so long? Maybe his puzzles weren’t good enough, maybe he should rework the entire road.

Another day…

Papyrus felt drained, though he wasn’t sure why he felt so tired. He had to be alert and prepared in case a human came! But, the door remained shut, only the Snowdin residents were solving puzzles, no one would touch his pasta dishes except for Sans (and he ruined them with hot sauce), and his snow Papyrus kept getting kicked over. Nobody would confess to the last one either, no matter how nicely he asked. What was the point of all this effort if nothing was changing?”

“Oh geez, don’t start sounding like your lazy brother now,” Flowey muttered.

“It’s been years since we joined as guards here,” Papyrus said to Sans, leaning on his sentry station. “But nothing’s happened.”

“I don’t think it’s been that long,” Sans said, setting aside a car magazine he’d been reading. “No news is good news, so maybe no human is a good human?”

“That’s not even bad enough to yell at you for,” Papyrus said.

“It was uninspired,” Flowey added.

“But surely something would have happened by now,” Papyrus went on.

“It’s been a long time since the last human came through here,” Sans said. “They probably forbid people from coming out here because they lost six kids at least.”

“It might make sense for them, but it’s not helping us any,” he said, then sighed. “It’s no fun with the puzzles either. People keep giving up at the icy X and O puzzle right by the Greater Dog’s yard. And somebody keeps knocking over my Snow Papyrus! They don’t even touch your sculpture, it’s stayed there same as always except that it’s gotten iced over.”

Sans shrugged. “Maybe it’s stayed because of the ice? If you really want to keep yours there, it might help if it was made of ice. I think some of the local teen delinquents are kicking it over when you’re away cooking with Undyne.”

“That could help, thanks!” It didn’t solve the main problem of finding a way to be popular by capturing a human. But, maybe he could become popular through snow and ice sculptures? He was good at snow already. Maybe he could show people that he was the best with making sure his sculpture stayed. People would love his sculpture for real if it was permanent, and thereby, they would love him too! People would ask him to make sculptures of them or other subjects, and more people would love him, and then he’d be the most popular monster in the underground!

This had to work!

Flowey smiled. “Heh, so gullible. I bet Sans just suggested that to stop you from whining.”

Then, the days began blinking by in rapid succession. Flowey wasn’t even sure how much time was going on any more. Papyrus rebuilt his snow Papyrus, as he always did with a red scarf to match his own and a toned human torso with muscular arms. Then he dumped a bucket of water over it so that it was coated in ice. However, that left icicles hanging everywhere and made it topple over because the skinny waist couldn’t handle much more bulk up top. He kept trying the bucket method until he got the idea to use a paintbrush to baste the sculpture with water. It should have more evenly distributed the ice. Instead, the ice froze the brush and the bucket before he was even done with the head.

Papyrus kept trying. The method that finally worked was making an enclosed bucket that kept the water inside lukewarm while a hose allowed him to spray a thin coat of ice over the sculpture. When he had the idea for the spray hose bucket, Sans had grudgingly agreed to help him put it together. It seemed like it could be a complex machine, but it turned out easy as the pieces managed to number themselves and provide a handy blueprint to follow.

“Good grief, that’s Alphys’ chicken scratch,” Flowey muttered. “You’re a dolt but I like you for that, so I guess it makes you a loveable dolt. But what’s this got to do with Chara?”

And what he was left with was an even better sculpture than before, the best snow Papyrus he had ever made! Not only was it ripped and handsome, but it now had a glossy coat that kept it from being knocked over! He told everybody in Snowdin about it and deactivated the sliding puzzle so that people could come check it out. There was even a party, with a table holding onto a display of icy colored balloons, plates of various kinds of pasta (including one that didn’t show a hint of burning!), and bags of candy and stickers as little door prizes. While that had taken some extra expense, Papyrus was happy with how he’d made the party table. All that he needed were guests to admire his hard work.

Nobody came the first hour. Papyrus made a teaser post on UnderNet showing the balloons. Nobody came the second hour, nor the third. After he said there was free candy and stickers, a few monster kids from Snowdin came by with Halloween costumes on. That was fine, he already had the perfect costume for a costume party.

“It doesn’t look anything like you,” one of the kids said.

“It was made all right, I guess,” another said. “But yeah, making yourself look like that is dorky.”

“W-well this is how awesome I feel I am,” Papyrus said, trying to defend his work.

“All covered in ice?” one asked, making the others laugh.

“Not exactly, but that’s to keep it standing, see?” He put a hand on the shoulder and pushed. Unfortunately, the waist was still small and cracked there, causing the sculpture to topple over and shatter. The kids laughed and ran off with the candies.

“Heh, well they got what they were after,” Flowey said.

“But I did all this work to make it work,” Papyrus said, looking down at the broken sculpture. Flowey wished that he could be heard because this was the perfect opportunity to cause some chaos.

Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one with that idea because a tiny yellow flower popped out of the snow and ground. The other Flowey reached a leaf over and poked at a chunk of icy snow. “Well, I thought it was amazing,” he said. “Those kids didn’t know what they were talking about. I would’ve come up sooner, but I don’t know those kids like I do you.”

Papyrus cheered up a bit. “Well, at least you agree with me!” But it didn’t last long. “I don’t understand, it was exactly like how I imagined it and I built so many to bring it to the perfection it deserved. So why didn’t anybody show up? And why didn’t they like it? There’s nothing wrong with being dorky, not if you’re the best dork out there.” He was trying to work himself up, but it wasn’t working.

The other Flowey glanced aside. “Well, I was bored.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, I wasn’t invited,” he changed it to, smiling and bending his stalk cutely.

“Oh, sorry, I wanted to!” Papyrus insisted, getting embarrassed and making himself more upset. “But, I wasn’t sure how to reach you because you don’t show up when others aren’t around.”

“It’s okay, I forgive you,” the other Flowey said. “But I’m surprised that your brother isn’t here. You’d think with something you put so much effort towards that he’d at least show up.”

“Yeah, where is he?” Papyrus asked. He didn’t realize it, but his form was shivering. “I know I told him about it, and he said he wanted to come see. Maybe he thought I was going to put it on a wagon and pull it over so he doesn’t have to move from his station, he would be like that.”

“And it’s too bad that they don’t recognize your genius talent here,” he said, spreading a leaf over the wreckage. “Maybe they’re jealous and don’t want to admit what a work of art it was? Or maybe they’re stupid and can’t recognize true talent.” He grinned wider, showing teeth that shouldn’t be there on a flower. “Or maybe they sabotaged it and tricked you into breaking it. They’re just kids, but somebody could teach them what to do so that you would fail when by all rights you shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah,” he said, his tone darkening as fractures of stress cracked through his soul. It made Flowey shiver in delight. Was he really going to break in this timeline? “Yeah! I’m a great person and I work hard, but no one ever gives me the respect I deserve! Someone must be working against me! But I can expose and stop them from their heinous crimes!” Even darker thoughts broke into his mind, leading him to wonder why he should care any more about the other monsters. They clearly weren’t seeing how great he was, while the shadowy mastermind was doing all they could to keep him down. But that conspiracy wasn’t going to last for long.

The other Flowey glanced back at the path leading down here. “Yes, you do that. I have to hide, but I will be assisting you. Don’t worry, I’m your best friend, aren’t I?” Then he burrowed back under the snow.

“Yes, you’re the only one who gets me,” Papyrus said. He was in the right condition to fully snap and decimate the population of Snowdin before they realized what was going on. Any monster could be provoked into this state, even this lovable dolt.

And right then, Sans finally showed up. Flowey laughed wildly knowing that he wouldn’t be heard. Because while Sans had warped in with a twinkle to his eye and likely some puns already in mind, he turned dead serious on seeing his brother’s condition before Papyrus noticed him. Maybe this had nothing to do with Chara, but this was too good to miss! Too bad it didn’t matter since the time this took place in got erased.

Sans tried to make himself look and sound lighthearted when he said, “Hey, Papyrus...”

“Where have you been?” Papyrus asked sharply, turning towards him. “The party started hours ago and now the sculpture’s wrecked!”

“I’m sorry, that was all a mistake,” he said, probably trying to excuse himself. Flowey noted his other self popping up on the pathway to watch. Sans didn’t notice and went on to say, “A friend called me up on what seemed like an emergency, but it turned out to be a prank that wasted hours.”

The other Flowey chuckled at that. This all couldn’t be as spontaneous as it seemed, as it was a great set-up to break Papyrus when Sans couldn’t be contacted. Maybe he should try something like that again? It wouldn’t be boring, maybe.

“You just made that up, didn’t you?” Papyrus said, not able to think clearly and notice that Sans wasn’t using a joking tone. “Are you in on this conspiracy to make me unpopular and ignored, huh? I’m not going to let you or anyone else get away with that!”

Sans clutched his finger bones tight and seemed to be gritting his teeth. Flowey wished that he could see into his head too because this had to be a glorious torment to him. “C-calm down,” Sans said, his voice shaking with faint echoes of his judge magic in the words.

Not that it’d work here and now, Flowey thought. Papyrus had snapped, but he’d not killed or hurt anyone. He couldn’t be guilt tripped when he had no sins yet.

It wasn’t even working to calm Papyrus down. “You shut up! I’ve had it with all this! Nothing’s going to change because everyone is so dismal and defeatist! We might as well end it all for everyone and stop all these wicked conspiracies!”

That sounded strange coming form him. Though given his condition, he could do or say anything. He even sent a fierce bone attack at his brother, using far higher magic speed than he normally did. However, it was a straight-line spell and Sans was able to step out of it easily. It angered Papyrus more and he attacked again before Sans had a chance to say anything.

“Come on, stop dodging,” Flowey said in delight. If Papyrus did kill Sans, his LOVE would rocket up and make the resulting massacre even greater. Maybe he’d even get into Waterfall and force Undyne to confront him. That might be enough to trigger Undyne, or empower a crazed Papyrus even further.

And then Sans did something incredibly risky. He teleported right in his brother’s view. Maybe he was running away; that would be like him, unable to handle responsibility when it fell on him. But no, that wasn’t it. Sans warped back in right next to Papyrus and took his hand. If he was attacked at this close of a range (or attacked himself), there would be no avoiding it. Such an attack would be deadly to either of them.

“Calm down,” Sans repeated, this time using his words with certainty. His power couldn’t hurt Papyrus, but it did make him stop. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t be here. And I know you must be very upset just from the looks of this place. But what you’re doing now won’t solve anything. You’ll only end up hurting people. Just stop. I don’t want to have to fight you.”

“Sans?” He was losing energy to his anger and instead was becoming confused.

“I never expected you to trigger like this,” he said, sounding hurt and concerned now. “I’m sorry, I must’ve messed up somehow, missed something warning that things were going wrong. This isn’t like you; you don’t give up.”

“I don’t, but...” his form trembled again and the cracking increased. But he had lost all the hate that he’d finally gained. “What’s happening? I don’t...”

Sans patted his hand, then somehow turned his judge magic into something calming instead of damning. “It’ll be okay, Papyrus. You’re sick.” Which was an understatement when his soul was cracked like this. “But things will be okay. I’ll take care of you, you’ve just got to keep calm and believe that things will work out for the best.”

“Wait, was I attacking you?” Papyrus said, horrified. He started crying. “I’m sorry, Sans, I don’t know what I was thinking, I don’t know...”

“Calm down and don’t worry about it,” Sans said. “You’d never hurt me, right? Or anyone.”

He nodded and followed Sans back home, right as time decided to jump forward. “Well that was sappy on top of being disappointing,” Flowey muttered. “And still nothing to do with her.”

Feeling that the weak part of his method might be the snow, Papyrus decided to change gears once he recovered enough to want to do things. Ice sculpting might be the better option to make a permanent feature around Snowdin. But it wasn’t as easy as snow sculpting. First, he had to freeze a block of ice larger than the sculpture he wanted. Then he had to carve away at it little by little, bringing out the shape of the perfect sculpture within. He could fix some mistakes with his water spray bucket, filling in cracks or dents he didn’t mean to make. But sometimes he’d hit with the chisel just right and huge cracks would appear, breaking the sculpture before it was even there.

“You’re just making the same thing over and over again,” Flowey muttered.

“You’re always using the same design,” Undyne said, pacing around the area. She wore a black coat trimmed with fur to keep warm here.

“Well once I master this design, I’ll be such a master ice sculptor that I can move on to other designs easily,” Papyrus countered. “Like how we practice by making spaghetti a lot.”

“I guess so,” she said. “All right, if you really want to focus on this. But, you still have to fulfill your duties as a sentry here!”

“Of course, I’m right here,” Papyrus said. “And we’ve got the alarm system working now so the light over there will blink and the fan will whirl if something happens over by the door.”

“I hope it works,” Undyne said. Then the scene blinked and she was sitting there on a rock that hadn’t been there before. Papyrus had yet another version of his ice Papyrus mostly done. He was down to chipping away at the face. “Man, I spent so much time making sure that we were fully prepared for when a human comes through! Everything’s set up, everyone’s trained up, we’ve even got replacements three times over… but no humans come at all! Are we gonna be stuck here forever just one step away from having the barrier broken?”

“More or less,” Flowey said.

“Don’t give up!” Papyrus cheered her on. “One’s bound to fall into the Ruins and come our way at some point. There’s lots of stories of humans who were too curious about something and went right into the mouth of danger just to see what was there! Maybe if we sent them a message that a fabulous treasure was down here, they’d come looking for it right away!”

“I’m not sure how we’d get such a message to them, but that would work,” Undyne said, thoughtful. “What kind of treasure do we say is down here? It has to seem really enticing.”

“Well there’s you for one,” Papyrus said, completely unaware that this could be taken in different ways.

“What?” Undyne asked, looking at him in surprise.

“Well you’re a powerful hero, a cunning fighter, and a great friend!” he said cheerily. “That makes you a treasure!”

She saw through his naivete and laughed. “Well I wouldn’t be enticing enough to lure humans down here! If we tell them that I’m here to strike them down for the freedom of all monsters, they wouldn’t want to come at all.”

“Hmm, guess not,” Papyrus said. “Well when I’m done with this, there will be my ice sculpture as a lure!”

“That might work, you are getting good at that,” Undyne said.

And as he said, he managed to complete this ice sculpture. It did look pretty good, all glistening and ideal. Still narcissistic, but who could blame him? This time, Sans didn’t skip out on helping him with a reveal party and getting a few Snowdin monsters to come visit. “It’s still dorky,” one of the kids from before said. Several years had passed and the kid was now a teenager.

And this time, Papyrus had listened to enough other criticisms to not come apart at this one. “It’s only my first masterpiece! I’m going to draw up new designs to make more. And I have been looking at lots of art, so I’m sure I can get a bunch of ideas that won’t be seen as dorky. When I first made this one in snow, I didn’t know much and was only trying to be cool.”

“What, have you seriously matured or something?” Flowey asked. “That’s boring, it makes you less of a kid and adults are boring.”

At some point in this party, Sans looked startled and briefly called out a fragment of a chronograph that he had. “It’s coming to an end,” he said.

“What was that?” Papyrus asked, turning to him.

Sans thought for a second. “The party’s due to wind down soon,” he changed his words to. “Excuse me, I need to send a message to someone. Someday, they’ve got to stop.”

“Stop what?” But Sans wouldn’t explain and the scene faded.

“Hmph, I must’ve gone and undermined the mountain when my plot with Papyrus didn’t work as I wanted,” Flowey said. “Although Frisk went and restarted everything again, the party pooper. But Chara isn’t here! Give me Chara back! How does this apply to what’s going on now anyhow?”

The whole area around him flashed with silent lightning and he found himself with Papyrus in the skeleton’s kitchen. There was a newly finished galley hall acting as a pantry between their old kitchen and a new kitchen add-on where their shed had been. Now that he knew what he wanted to be doing again, Papyrus felt all fired up about getting this done right! He was going to be the best chef in the whole underground, no doubt about that!

“Is this the current flow of time?” Flowey wondered.

Then the reviews for his work came in. The customers could send in anonymous reviews to the people who organized the home meal ordering system, which they would pass on to the chefs. And day after day, Papyrus kept getting below average marks and complaints. A soup might be thin and unsatisfying. But that soup was thick and chalky. The stuffed peppers were way too hot or way too mild, extreme opinions on the exact same dish. On a ravioli dish, someone complained that burnt was not a flavor and they didn’t enjoy that.

“Aw man, I thought I was going to do really well when the company accepted me,” Papyrus said after he’d gotten five reviews of a spaghetti plate being too chaotic and unappealing.

This time, though, Flowey wasn’t around to put pressure on him. Thinking back, he wondered if this was when he was trying to turn the human souls into nightmares for everybody, or when he was trying to perfect an opera he had in mind about himself and his situation. Sans was there, however. “Maybe you should try eating things that other chefs make?” Sans suggested. “Read what they write and keep working on it. You’re doing well enough that the company’s keeping you.”

Papyrus nodded, hanging on to his eager optimism. “Yeah, that could be good, see what the competition’s like. I can’t fail! I’ve just got to keep working at it, people will appreciate all this effort when it finally comes together!”

“I’d rather see you more eager for one of my plots again,” Flowey said.

As his brother had suggested, Papyrus made some time to go to the capitol and try out some restaurants where were known for being excellent. And the meals there were truly delicious, tasty combinations that melted the heart and made everything seem familiar and homey. But when he went back to try one of his own meals, it didn’t compare. He really was way below that excellence.

It was humbling to realize that. He took off from the cooking business for a week to figure things out. While Papyrus loved to cook, he wasn’t sure if he could become that good. Then he read over some of his favorite books to feel better about himself and found one that was similar to what he was doing. A young rabbit was trying to be the best at races, but his dad kept beating him. He didn’t like it, so he kept trying, running every day to become faster. Eventually, he managed to beat his father in a foot race. However, his dad explained that it was because he had gotten old and his legs weren’t working as well as they should be. There was still a rabbit in town who was much faster. The rabbit that the book was about was discouraged at first, but his father pointed out that he had gotten faster doing so much practice. He just had to keep going until he could beat the other rabbit. And so, with continued hard work, the rabbit became so fast that he easily won the next year’s big race and was declared the fastest monster around.

That was just the thing to raise Papyrus’ spirits again. He wasn’t the best cook now. In fact, he was still below average. But he’d been cooking every day. He was going to become great.

Then the reviews started coming back positive. One person wrote that their children had eaten the entire meal and not been picky about anything. Another person wrote that the meal was well-organized on the plate and appealing to look at, though the taste could use some work. And then, he started getting all positive reviews on his meals, even a full star rating! But there was still a long ways to go, he told himself.

“We’re lacking a little something,” Papyrus said as he tested a fruit and pasta salad he had made. “It is really nice and a different thing to make. But I don’t quite have the heart-warming wonderful quality that the chefs in the city have. Hmm, but fiddling with it too much more will make the delivery late and might mess up the good that it has now. This will do for today’s meals, hopefully someone says something in the reviews to point out what’s not quite there. But I will get there, I will be the best one day!”

“This is boring,” Flowy said. “I’m looking for my best friend and something to actually help me, not stories of other people. Chara! Come back! Please?”

However, the scene lingered as Papyrus’ phone went off. He went to check on it immediately, of course. “I guess being an anonymous cook means I won’t make loads of friends through this service, but once I can have my own restaurant...” he tensed and his tone completely changed. “Wh-what, really? Oh my god, Undyne does have to know! I’ve got it, I’ll alert her!” He quickly began typing out a message.

“Is this really going on?” Flowey asked, unsure of it. He knew that Papyrus was a chef this time around for a cooking service, and that he had renovated their house this way. But it could be another similar time.

“This is big stuff,” Papyrus said when he got done messaging people. “Undyne is great, but maybe she could use some help. It’s been years since I fought, except when that weird spirit made me fight Frisk. Still, I could be her morale supporter! Yeah, I’d better finish up this meal quick and go too!”

“Go where?” Flowey asked, but the scene was fading away. “Quit playing this game, rift, and show me where I’ll find Chara!”

Another crack appeared around him and he found himself falling through time again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do some reworking on the stadium scene, so here's some of Flowey's sidepath instead.


	28. Showdown at the Stadium

The fury had made it hard to do anything. Although, Asgore had been through many rough times in his life and hadn't thought to attribute that feeling to an outside influence. Getting a good sleep without it did make him feel refreshed. Not entirely better since these ghosts being loose now was his fault. Still, big things were happening and as the king of monsters, Asgore had to be involved. After convincing Undyne that he was fine with walking around, the two of them went to Waterfall instead of the castle so he could speak to an old friend. Undyne went to check on a few things while he was doing so.

Gerson the turtle was the only other monster in the underground now that had been alive during the Great War. He owned a store that hadn't changed in decades; some of the stock were things that Asgore had seen there when it first opened. While he would joke about his rare big sales of something other than food and tea, Gerson didn't care about making a profit. He was a good judge of character, able to figure out what stories a new visitor would be most interested in within a few minutes.

When Asgore came in, Gerson had a young customer in a tan lop-eared rabbit. A radio was tuned to a station from the capitol. "Are you sure about this?" Cinna asked, holding onto an old brown book. "I haven't seen this in the library in Snowdin."

"Sure, I ain't got a use for it now," Gerson said. "I lived through some of that, so I know it all. Well, when I can remember it." He chuckled, then looked over. "Oh, hey there Asgore."

"Howdy Gerson," Asgore said, waving to him. "Hope I'm not interrupting something."

"Just some talk, we don't mind more people to chat with," Gerson said in a friendly manner. It was more likely because the kid was here. Their friendship was not as close as it had been ever since his rash declaration of war decades ago.

"Are you doing better, Cinna?" Asgore then asked, smiling at the young boy. "I heard about what happened to you, and I'm sorry about that."

"Um, it's okay," Cinna said, shaking his head nervously. "Becca's gonna go back home and I'll be fine. Aaron and Aaron wanted to race with me, but I got tired and stopped here. Then I found this old book here and Mr. Gerson said I can buy it."

"It's a history book I brought down here with me and nobody else has shown an interest in it," Gerson said. "Doesn't do anyone good sitting on a shelf, so I don't care about the price if somebody actually wants to read that thing."

If it was something he'd brought down here, that was an incredibly old book. A protection spell was over it, keeping it safe from Waterfall's damp air. "You'd best take good care of a book like that," Asgore said.

Cinna nodded, more at ease now. "Yeah, I will."

It was a nice thing to see, a younger monster finding what could be their niche. It had been a long time since they'd had a dedicated historian around too. Although, that did have the unfortunate circumstance that there wasn't a lot of variance in the history that got recorded. Maybe it wouldn't be as much of a problem if they could go back to the surface soon.

After one of the Aarons came back to get Cinna, Gerson passed over one of his bottles of sea tea. "That kid mentioned that he met a friendly human recently."

"Yes, I've met the young man," Asgore said, accepting the bottle. "Thanks. He's a summoner."

Gerson raised a bushy eyebrow at that. "Really now? Is he trying to gain command over us?"

He shook his head. "No, he isn't. He came to take back the six souls, but he's willing to help us because he needs the barrier down for that task."

"Are we sure about that?" He had good reason to be skeptical, for as Gerson put it, "I remember them taking total control of friends in battle. The Delta Rune is our symbol, but it's a potential nightmare to see it worn by a human."

At that, Asgore had to admit to something. "Well he does know the doppelganger spell; he used it against Undyne, actually. But that convinced her that he had good intentions since his doppelganger was unable to harm her."

"Doppelganger is only a step away from the puppet strings," Gerson said, bowing his head for a moment. "Huh, but he actually got Undyne to not kill him?"

"Right, that's why I decided to listen to him."

The old turtle smiled for a moment. "Heh, I see. Still, it would make sense for him not wanting to harm us if he was trying to take some of us for his own uses."

"I really don't think that's what he intends," Asgore said. "He hasn't formed a contract with anyone yet even though he's been down here for a few years already. If anyone, he would have done so with Alphys because he wanted to work with her specifically."

"Who now?" Gerson asked. "I can't keep track of folks like you can, you know."

"She's the current Royal Scientist," he explained. "She isn't skilled in combat at all, so she wouldn't be of much use to a summoner who wanted to use us for battle."

"That's not the only thing they could do with us."

"Yes, but I feel he's really here to help us as well," Asgore said. "His LOVE is a little high, but the judge keeping an eye on him says that it's actually going down at an impressive rate. Besides, he told me with honesty that controlling self-aware beings or creating them through summoning is currently forbidden magic in the human nations."

"Huh, that's curious that he decided to pursue that study then," Gerson said. He was skeptical for a while longer. But on hearing of what the plans were, he seemed agreeable to making peaceful contact with the humans again.

During a pause in their conversation, their attention got drawn to the announcer on the radio. "Ah, here we go, we got a message about what's going on over at the grand stadium here in New Home. And it's... what, are you serious? Really?"

"Really," a fainter voice could be heard.

"Well this is bad," the announcer said. "The folks over at the stadium claim to be the violent criminals who escaped from imprisonment a while back and they say they're going to execute the Royal Scientist Dr. Alphys as a live broadcast."

"What?" Asgore said in shock, looking over at the radio. This wasn't like anything else that had happened during his reign. While other monsters had snapped and murdered a great many others, none had been so bold as to do something like this.

"I know she's been involved in some crazy stuff in the past," the radio announcer said, also in disbelief. "But I've read those reports and she never had the intention to harm anyone. This isn't right; you shouldn't make a spectacle of death."

"What're you gonna do about this?" Gerson asked.

It was the judges' duty to take care of violent monsters. However, this was taking things too far. "I have to get up to the stadium and see what I can do," Asgore said. "Sorry, we'll have to talk more later."

"Don't be a stranger now," Gerson said, giving a nod.

Shortly after getting out of the shop, Undyne nearly crashed into him. "Sorry, I've got to get to Alphys," she said hurriedly, barely pausing to get around him and speak.

Asgore caught her from going down towards the ferry dock. "I heard about it over the radio. We should take the emergency elevators."

"Right, that'll be faster." She took off for the nearest one and Asgore had to hurry after her. When he caught up to her by the elevator, she scowling at the panel waiting for it to arrive. "Whoever did this is a heartless dunce! I'll crush them for it!"

"Don't forget that it might include the one who killed the two judges," Asgore said, trying to ready himself for battle. He wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but it was worse if he let her rush in alone. "We'll need to take care, and our priority is getting Alphys away safely."

"Of course," Undyne said, her expression grim.

"Actually, I'd like you to get to her as quickly as you can, if the situation allows for it," he said. Some plans were forming in his mind based on the stadium's design. Did they have anyone in the seats? "When we get there, we'll make some quick observations. There may not be much time, but we can't blindly rush in either."

For a moment, it seemed like she'd argue that. Her ponytail shook a bit. "Sure. But I'm not going to stand at the sidelines for this."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Asgore said.

* * *

When Frisk arrived at the ferry stop, Papyrus was catching a ride too. "Are you going to the capitol?" the skeleton asked. He was wearing a different outfit today, with the bright red scarf around his neck.

It made Frisk's heart twinge some seeing that. "Yeah, of course," he said, then nodded to the ferry person. "Thank you."

"Happy to have my boat be useful," they said cheerfully.

He then turned back to talking with Papyrus. "Did you mean to help out with Alphys?"

"Of course, and I bet Undyne is already there!" he said. "Which means that we might not need to help her if it comes to a fight. But we can be there to cheer her on and support them!"

"Right," Frisk said, but he was worried about having Papyrus there. He was certainly strong, but his kindness was strong too and these might not be the kind of people who'd soften in the face of kindness alone.

"Are you off to the capitol's stadium?" the ferry person asked. "I overheard some chatter that some group was going to broadcast something there today. But it didn't have anything to do with boats, so I wasn't interested."

"Wowie, so we could end up on TV?" Papyrus asked. Then he had second thoughts. "Though if they're doing that to cause trouble to Dr. Alphys, that's no good."

Frisk nodded, but it gave him some ideas. Asgore wanted him to speak with the monsters, and if his words on the internet had an effect on monsters, they could have greater impact through television. Especially a live broadcast. But the most important matter was Alphys' safety. The monsters who kidnapped her might be dangerous, but might be intimidated by a show of power. But then he wouldn't want to scare off any monsters who might watch the broadcast either.

On their way up to the elevator, Frisk got out his tablet to see if this was being broadcast. He then let Papyrus pick their destination while he sent out some queries to his other allies. If one wasn't willing to help him, perhaps another.

* * *

This had been a crazy few days, Alphys thought groggily. They'd been talking for over a year about getting Frisk to the lab; it hadn't even been a week and now they were discussing in person how to start negotiations with the human world through the internet, among many other matters. But what now? When had she fallen asleep? There had been a pack of teenagers wanting to talk with her outside the lab, which was bizarre, and then...

And now she was caught in some kind of sealed space; people were arguing beyond it. "But we want everyone to be paying attention, that's the whole point."

"True, but do you know who you actually sent that message to?" another voice growled. There was a hostility in that voice that shook her awake fully. This was a dangerous person.

"It had to be some other lab nerd cause they were talking technobabble." It was a nervous answer. Alphys braced herself on the dusty ground, trying not to move too much while getting a better look around.

"Don't worry about it," someone else said; he was a Snowdrake wearing dark glasses. He also seemed dangerous, but there was a tinge of orange to his soul that didn't belong. "I told the others to get the cameras going right away, so we'll start soon."

The other dangerous one snorted; he was a tan feline monster, one that Alphys thought she should recognize if she could think clearer. He also had a different soul, one that was dark blue. "Reckless; I at least would prefer not to be seen that publicly." The lights around them brightened, making it clearer that this was the sports stadium. Nothing was set up, although some lines for running remained. "Well then you take the lead for this. Seems like she's awake."

Since he'd noticed, she brought herself to sit up within the seal. It was meant to keep her trapped here, but some key parts were blurred. That wasn't too surprising, given it looked like mostly youths surrounding her. The dangerous cat was one of the older ones and he seemed to be in his twenties. "What's going on?" Alphys asked.

"We're just discussing things," one of the others answered.

"Don't be so literal," the Snowdrake said, hopping over to the edge of the seal. "Hey Alphys, welcome to your execution. We will execute so finely that your heart will stop!" He chuckled, causing a few others to join in. Others just rolled their eyes.

In her nightmares, she'd feared something like this happening in response to her failures. The better ones had her at least accept it gracefully. Now that it was happening, with at least two high LOVE monsters in on it, there was a voice from her heart that stopped her anxious thoughts before they got too loud. They had foolishly announced their intentions to Frisk and he'd surely let Undyne know. When she got here, they'd regret doing this.

"Under whose authority?" Alphys asked, planning on stalling to give them time to get here.

"We don't need no authority!" the Snowdrake claimed, puffing himself up so suddenly that his sunglasses slipped. He had orange eyes too. Using a wing to push his sunglasses back, he added, "Forget the stale monarchy, we're gonna prove that the only 'archy we need is anarchy, which we'll take to ruin the humans!"

There were a lot of points she could argue on that. "If this is a killing without authority or a trial, it's no execution," she said, standing up to face them. Most to them stepped back, causing the cat to slap his forehead. "It's just another murder."

"No, it's an execution because we're killing you for your crimes and making it public," the Snowdrake said. "You hid so many deaths, but yours will be out in plain sight for everyone to see. It'll be broadcast and recorded so nobody can ignore it!"

Looking over where she knew a camera was, she noticed it wasn't active yet. "Hmm, are you having trouble with the camera controls then? It's a large system that usually needs training to properly operate."

"It shouldn't be trouble at all," he said, baffled that she was questioning that. "It's just cameras, you point and shoot with them." He hesitated on the way she narrowed her eyes. "Right?"

Alphys shook her head. "No, it's more complex than that. Do you have anyone in your group who knows how to operate the control panel?"

"Maybe?" The Snowdrake chuckled. "You've got some guts to keep so calm in the face of death, but don't think this will get you out of that seal."

"Well you could at least patch me through to whoever's trying to get it running," she said.

That did get her more time as they had to send someone with a phone up to the broadcast control room, then let her talk with them about how to get a live feed sent to the MTT network. Alphys confused them for a little while with technical information. When she had to switch to simpler phrasing, she brought up the issue that the network wasn't something that could be taken over easily. They still tried, but had to call through the network office. The Snowdrake wouldn't accept asking for permission; the network official caught on and blocked his demands with exaggerated bureaucratic procedures.

At one point, the Snowdrake huffed and handed the phone over to her. "Make what that fool says clearer," he insisted.

Alphys nodded and took the phone. "Yes?"

"If they want to make a show of this, we're ready to match them," the official said quietly. "Three members of the Royal Guard, two judges, a couple others, and the king are there to assist you."

"I see," she said, keeping an even tone. "Things seem fine from here, I can see the cameras operating. Are there any other issues?"

"No, we've switched to a live broadcast of the stadium already. I was just holding off as much as I could until the rest were in position."

"Good, thank you."

"Glad I could help, this is preposterous business. Hang in there; the boss would be unhappy if our work was used as they intend it. He said to do everything we could to make sure you have a good image out there. Nearly everyone commenting online is disgusted by their actions. Hang on a moment... good, gotcha. We have word from the king that they're ready to break in for you. They'll try to divert the gang's attention from you, so once they enter, keep quiet. Someone will move in quick to break that seal and get you out of danger."

"Sure, I got that," Alphys said. Then was Mettaton aware of this situation and helping how he could too? Feeling grateful for her friends, she added, "I'll let them know about the technical hiccup."

"Whâ€¦ oh right, sorry, go ahead and let them know the cameras are live. I think that's everything for the moment."

"Seems so, I'll be passing the phone back." She took it from her ear and passed it back across the seal's barrier. "They got the problem sorted out themselves just now. We are live on MTT currently."

"Are we?" the Snowdrake said, surprised. Then he tried to take control of the moment and puffed himself up. "Good, good, we can finally get going! Hey Catclaw, we're..." he turned and looked for his co-conspirator. But the tan cat was nowhere to be seen. "Pah, cowardly little sneak, always keeping to the shadows. Whatever. Now you, it's about time you suffered the consequences of your crimes."

"I've been tormented over what happened for years now," Alphys countered. "With what you mean to do, it won't make things any worse for me. Besides, I still think this is simply murder for revenge rather than a proper execution."

"Why are you quibbling over word meanings when you're going to die?" the Snowdrake asked angrily. "We don't need a trial when we know we're right! We don't need a proclamation from that lazy king; we can take matters into our own hands!"

"I have an objection to that," Asgore said, coming into the stadium himself. He had two guards in black armor at his side as well as one of the city judges following behind; Alphys still worried about him doing this. He hadn't dealt with a dangerous situation himself for a long time, and everyone knew he was a softy. Was it going to be safe for him to be here like this?"

"King Asgore, um?" Alphys said, then recalled that she was supposed to keep quiet now.

Thankfully, the whole group had turned to see that it was the king. Asgore looked better than he had yesterday. In fact, he seemed more like a king than she could recall him being like before. The sternness in his voice froze a number of the rioters in place. "Don't worry, Alphys, I won't let them harm you further. You all should let her go; you're not in a position to be judging someone fairly."

"And what, you are?" the Snowdrake asked, also turned away from her. "You didn't do anything about her when the horrors she unleashed was revealed! Besides, you've committed many sins yourself."

One of the guards got ready to attack, but Asgore held a hand out to stop them. "I see, you're one of the possessed ones."

As she felt relieved that he'd noticed, she felt the seal crumble away. "Hmph, that was a lousy one," Undyne said quietly behind her. "Back up now."

Alphys nodded and stepped back while keeping an eye on those who might be able to see her escape. Before long, Undyne took her hand. In front of them, the Snowdrake was angry enough to be bouncing in place. "What the hell did you do with him?!" he shouted, in a different voice than before. "You will not escape justice, monster king, you won't win against us now!" Spirals of ice spun out towards Asgore as the Snowdrake ran right into his own bullets to attack directly.

"You sure you shouldn't be over there?" Alphys asked. Now that she was out of the seal, she could run out of the stadium herself.

"He ordered me to keep you safe this time," Undyne said. Across the stadium, Asgore had shifted his left arm so that he could sweep the Snowdrake aside with his cloak. He didn't seem concerned about the attack. "I'm sorry, I said I'd keep them from laying a hand on you."

"It's fine, I knew you'd come," she said, smiling briefly. But there was a serious problem. "There's two of the possessed monsters here, both of them more dangerous than the rest of this crowd. But the other one slipped off somewhere."

"Hmm."

"They're going to react even worse if Asgore gets involved in a real fight," Alphys said.

A green flash appeared next to her, a magical spear clashing with slashing claws. She tensed on reflex and tried to move away. Furious, a blue eyed cat monster tried to pounce on them again. Undyne turned the spear into a proper shield to keep deflecting him. "Keep your paws off her," she threatened.

"Useless, you'll both die!" Catclaw snarled, his claws turned a dark blue. Then they began to extend out of his body, turning his fur dark blue as well...

" _Don't you da..!" Undyne yelled, shifting her shield to block. Another set of claws whipping from his tail slashed right through her body. The sheer intent to kill got through her defense, making this deadly._

"Don't you dare!" Undyne yelled as something seemed to flicker like an unstable broadcast. She moved her shield to block the two paws; Alphys felt like there would be a third attack.

A wall of bones erupted from the ground as Sans appeared out of the corner of her eyes. They blocked the attack from Catclaw's tail. "You the one they've been calling Catclaw lately?" he asked casually.

"Yes," he said, as if a girl was speaking in sync with him. "I am that legend, the one who will strike down all the cowards and hypocrites!" His posture shifted.

Undyne knocked him to the ground midleap. "Well then you don't stand a chance against me!" she challenged.

"And you're quite the lame imitation," Sans added. "You might have more dust in your fur, but you don't have an ounce of his feline style."

Turning his hate on the skeleton, Catclaw hissed and dashed at him. Sans somehow slide out of the way in the last possible moment, swiping him across the back with a large bone. "We should capture him and the Snowdrake at least," Alphys said. Her heart was beating quickly, unable to do much in action herself. But she felt little fear. Undyne and Sans would protect her.

And with another sense that time had adjusted back a few seconds, she knew Frisk was protecting them all.

* * *

"Leave this to the guards and I," Frisk said after turning back time. He was already casting Fleetfoot to get to Asgore's side.

"Be careful!" Papyrus called after him.

When there, Frisk raised a fire shield behind Chilldrake just in time to cast a furious winter blast. The king, his guards, and the rat judge could withstand the attack; the other rioters couldn't. Asgore's next blow dazed Chilldrake enough that the judge Raime could bind him. "Wah, a human?!" one of the teenagers who could see around the fire squawked.

This was a risk. But, the cameras were already rolling. This was an ideal time to speak with many monsters at once. There was a danger of someone dying at the sidelines of this conflict; there was a danger that this could be an early step towards war between humans and monsters. To stop those dangers, they had agreed to move swiftly in this rescue.

Movement shifted further from the main cluster of monsters, where a cat overwhelmed by a ghost was trying to fight off Undyne and Sans at once. No, Catclaw had heard the call and was coming straight for Frisk. It could be the lure of forcefully taking another soul, making this being even more powerful. Frisk pointed right at Catclaw and surrounded him with a red magical sphere as strong as steel. Wanting to impress this crowd on how different his magic was, he caused an iridescent shift to the translucent sphere.

His captive slashed at the bubble in a wild fury. Frisk had to calm him down forcefully in order to keep him from breaking out. "He's just asleep, I've got him secured," he said.

"I have this one secure as well," Raime said, stopping by the cursing Chilldrake to double-check on him. Chains with mossy slime were hindering his movement now.

"Whoa, another human is really here?" another of the rioters asked. "Hah, now we can break the barrier and bring down humanity!"

"His quick thinking saved you from being hurt by your leader's reckless moves," Asgore said, calmly facing the remainder. "Leave the issue of the human aside for now. We are not going to be executing Dr. Alphys. Instead, you will be arrested for endangering and disturbing your neighbors. Your aggressive protests are counter-productive as causing so much harm to other monsters is only making our situation worse. I am angry with all of you for causing such discord."

Faced with the quiet fury of their king, nearly all who had gathered for the execution went meek. They'd called him weak and cowardly online where he could not confront him. Even the king's supporters admitted he was a gentle monster. However, they'd provoked him enough to get a glimpse of the dragon that Frisk had seen within Asgore's soul.

Catclaw would be asleep for a while, but Chilldrake rattled his chains in disgust. "Don't fall for his bluff, he's an ancient dud who can't amount to anything now! And he's betrayed us now as he had to get help from this human! If he's going to be stubborn enough to intervene now, he ought to have destroyed the human for full power! If you must commit a sin, go all out or it's not worth it."

"You must have been driven mad by the spirit that inhabits you," Asgore said, turning to him.

"No excuses!" An orange flash appeared to cut the judge's chains. "Kill or be kil..." the chains wrapped around him again, this time including a muzzle over his beak. "Mphm!"

"No, let's stop this violence," Asgore said in response. He hadn't even summoned his trident for this.

"Uh, but why?" one of the others asked, trembling like it was taking all her courage to speak up now that their leaders were down. "That guy's the last human we need, we could be free today, right?"

"It's possible," Asgore admitted. "However, we have the chance now to reconcile peacefully with the humans. I regret what's passed and I'd rather see if this will work."

"But we swore we'd get revenge with another war," another one said. A couple near him nodded while others hesitated.

They might cower before their king in his full majesty, but given how long this unrest had continued, it might not be enough. Starting another war would be pointlessly tragic. The truth could die if monsters got wiped out, leaving only the skewed legends among the humans. This notion of war had to be stopped here and now.

With a snap and a flicker of white, the Penance Rosary on Frisk's neck came loose. He caught it in surprise before it got lost. "What was that?" one of the rioters asked, having been watching him.

He ought to be honest with this. "The restraints that were put on me broke," he said, going towards them instead of hanging behind. When Asgore met his eyes, he smiled briefly. Frisk hadn't told him what exactly it was, but he must have known all the same. Clutching the rosary, he added, "Do you really want another war against humanity? Do you think you're capable of it?"

"We could win," the rioter said, although he didn't sound as proud as they had been before.

"Are you sure of that?" Frisk challenged. "I came down here to settle matters peacefully, but if you want a war, why don't you start with a duel against me? That one over there, Catclaw right? He seems to have made himself a fearsome presence and I neutralized him quickly before this restraint broke."

"Yeah, and he fought me to a standstill!" Undyne added with a grin.

"He's a teenager like the rest of you, actually," Alphys said. "Adult humans would have more experience and skill, so even if one of us could beat him, that's no guarantee that we could match up against one of their adults."

Actually, he was in a class of wizards that few others among humans could match. But they wouldn't be aware of that. "Right, I am fifteen years old. Are any of you willing to duel?" There was a muffled yell from Chilldrake. "Aside from the two captives."

"You're all still under arrest, but I'll give you the time for that if any of you choose to challenge him," Asgore said. When none of the others spoke up, the king nodded. "Very well, we shall move ahead with our new plans for a peaceful collaboration. All of you will head into the halls here to await interrogation. I hope these disturbances will end now."

Back in the stadium's halls, Undyne and Alphys stopped by him and Asgore. "Are you serious that your power has been under restraint until now?" Undyne asked immediately.

"Not exactly," Frisk said, looking back to the rosary in his hand. None of the others had come off and it was always the same person who attached them. "This is more for those like your judges to keep track of me. At most, it could seal my magic temporarily as a countermeasure, but that has to be triggered. It should be impossible for me to take it off myself, so I must have fallen below it's threshold."

LOVE 6 > LOVE 5 I don't want to scare you all, but if that's what it takes to stop you from putting yourself in danger, that's what I'll do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again! I had many ways this chapter could have played out, part of what stalled me on this for so long. Hopefully I can finish this fic up now that this part's done.


	29. Dark Aspirations

Given that he had dealt with the original, Sans got assigned to speak with the new Catclaw. The others captured in the stadium had been sufficiently awed by Asgore and Frisk; they could be turned around. But apparently Chilldrake was giving the guards a headache with his aggressive defiance. He and others had confirmed that Catclaw was the one causing most of the sudden murders around the capitol. Catlcaw and Chilldrake were also the last two possessed by humans, so these interviews would be little use until the ghosts were properly taken care of.

"The one with Chilldrake is named Heath," Frisk said, checking information on his tablet. "He's taken the form of a ghoul; higher than average lucidity, aggressiveness depends on the individual. Ghouls can be forced out with spells of positive energy, even healing spells. Once disconnected, he may need to be battled until his anger is spent; he'll revert back to an insubstantial heart. I can transfer him to a sleeping doll at that point as long as he doesn't get angry again."

"Is he going to be tough as a ghoul?" Undyne asked, seeming interested in a challenge.

"What could we do rather than fight him?" Asgore asked. "I'd rather not do that myself."

Frisk nodded; if they'd known the two others were among this crowd, he would have recommended Asgore not take part of the rescue effort. "Calling him by name when disconnected and some consoling for the dead may be enough to satisfy him. Although given the fuss he's still making, I'd count on him wanting a fight even given his name back. Ghouls can't be harmed by mundane weaponry, but that shouldn't be an issue among us. Heath in particular seems more vulnerable to fire magic and resistant to cold."

"That might be because of who he possessed," Undyne said. "So what about the other guy?"

She was one who could be as much of a problem as the fury. "The one with Catclaw is named Cora and she's taken the form of a ripper. It's a more unusual type, although not as rare as the fury. Actually, the name refers to a legend among humans of a grisly serial murderer called Jack the Ripper. Rippers are dangerous because they like violent murders with small weapons like knives or claws and tend to be good at going unnoticed. Also, rippers aren't something that even professional ghost hunters would attempt to calm down. They can kill even without a host and battling it is unlikely to be enough to revert it to a basic soul."

"In that case, we'd be better off if we didn't have to battle it at all," Asgore said. Undyne nodded slowly to that; a little surprising, but good for her sake.

"Right," Frisk said, still reviewing the notes he'd downloaded. "It may be best for me to handle her personally since I can summon her out of his body while they're both asleep and bind her straight into a doll. And it looks like I'll need to add extra security measures to her doll to make sure she doesn't wake up before I can pass her off to a priestess who can subdue her better."

Since he needed to be there for both to call the souls into dolls, they decided to have Frisk call Cora out of Catclaw first. Raime got Sans the court records on the individual to review while that was carried out. This wasn't someone that the city judges had thought worth watching closely until he'd been arrested for leading some of the riots. He didn't have close friends and had lived apart from his family since he'd turned sixteen. While there were issues with his work, nothing in his records until the riots was a red flag to them. It was worrisome, but there were many other monsters with similar characteristics. Not all of them could be monitored.

Besides, any monster could snap unexpectedly in their imprisonment, even someone like Papyrus.

That though chilled Sans' bones, though he couldn't explain to himself why aside from some faint ideas that it wasn't like that this time. Catclaw must have been possessed in his initial imprisonment, given that the interview mentioned that he had a blueness to his eyes and aura when he got angry. Odd, blue wasn't usually seen as a symbol of anger. It did explain a bit of her issue with hypocrisy.

When Frisk came out, the black-haired doll he carried was bound with red threads. He moved on with Alhys and Undyne to regain the soul of Heath, so Sans went to interview some of the younger participants of the failed execution. "We wanted to be cool rebels like Chilldrake," an Ice Cap said. "I was kind of thinking that it was getting too extreme, but it seemed like such a bold move for standing out, even more so than fashion. Plus when everybody else said it was a great plan, I didn't want to be some stick in the mud like my parents. I thought Chilldrake was the coolest of the cool, but it's not so cool attacking everybody at once."

This was typical teenage peer pressure, thinking something was fine if others said it was. Most of these runaways from Snowdin would be assigned volunteer work and corrective lessons as a result of this. It was a shame that this was what followed Cinna disappearing from Snowdin, though. It was sure to worry all the families there.

But their ringleaders Chilldrake and Catclaw wouldn't be getting off easy even with the issue of them being possessed. Sans went in once he heard the cat had woken back up. He was kept separate from the rest, still caught in Frisk's shell. With his fur turned back to a normal tan, Catclaw was nudging the shell to see what he could do. "Oh, you, you were the guy who said I was a lame imitation!"

"Hello to you too," Sans said, setting the records on a table.

"How could you say that?!" he asked, jumping to his feet and acting like he'd strike the shell. But he held back.

"Like I said, I dealt with the original myself," he said, putting an edge of a judge's power to his words. It caused the cat to freeze in place. "You look nothing like him and your speech is completely different. So what's your original name?"

He stayed still for a moment, then flicked his tail in embarrassment. "Burgerpants," he said with a small meek expression.

"No, I asked for your original name," Sans said, although it was clearly on the records. "I've heard that story, so I know it's not actually your name."

Somehow, he got even more embarrassed. "Tom Cat," he answered. Then he grimaced and brought out his claws. "Yeah, it's a completely generic name, I get it! So even a dumb degrading name is better than that if I take it in stride. But I could be more, I could be way more than I am! So now I'm Catclaw."

"Catclaw targeted mostly children that he thought were too innocent for being imprisoned underground," he said. He tried to keep an even tone for that, but some of that anger had never faded even though it was centuries ago by this point. "Are you really sure you want to take that name?"

If he'd answered immediately with 'yes', Sans would have marked him down as more worthy of execution. He'd just have to stay his hand until Raime or the third judge could approve of it. This cat hesitated. Since the ripper's soul had been taken from him, his LOVE had come down several levels. "Well, it wouldn't be that great to be associated with that. Guess not, let's go with Tom, boring as it is."

"Sure," Sans said. Because of the possession, he decided to take things differently. "Well then, Tom, what day is it today?"

"It's, uh..." his ears twisted and his paws twitched. "It's... I dunno?" When he finally made a guess, it was ten days ago.

"Have you been losing track of time?" That sometimes happened if the monster had snapped from a state of depression, when they couldn't care about normal life.

"Well yeah, there's a lot of stuff I don't remember how I got somewhere," Tom said. "Like I know I was on one of the city rooftops not that long ago, but next thing I knew, I was down at a convenience store by the fringe and nobody was around." He scratched at his ear. "But there were plans, see? There's been these plans in my head and they seem great. Except they're not, they're really cruel! But they'd make me great, somebody that people would fear and respect! It confused me a lot too, especially the times I thought I was a girl for some reason."

"Do you recall what your most recent plan was?" Sans asked.

"Ah..." he frowned, glancing from side to side while he searched his thoughts. "Kinda? There isn't any plans in my mind right now... what was I doing? There was something about some scientist I was supposed to kill for revenge. But, I don't remember why I wanted revenge? I was pretty angry about it; I'm sure I wanted her dead at some point. But I don't remember why, not even sure who she's supposed to be."

He didn't want to lead this exchange too much and accidentally give him an excuse for his actions. At least Tom was talkative; he'd expected since this was the one they suspected of killing the judges, he wouldn't want to talk with them. "Have you been angry a lot lately?"

"Of course!" Tom said, his ears briefly shifting back. But they came forward again to listen to himself. "There's so much going on that's completely wrong and stupid, but everyone's supposed to act meek and happy even if they don't feel meek and happy. You're just supposed to stay in place and not try to be any better than others think you are, or you get made fun of relentlessly and treated like garbage. All of these years, I've wanted to humiliate the people who humiliated me, but they kept saying to shut up and keep doing my job. It's a stupid dead-end job that nobody would want to hire me out of into a better one."

He was sounding more like someone on the brink of turning violent, not someone who had gone well beyond that brink. Tom should probably be kept away from those who incited him. Ignoring the possession issue for now, Sans asked, "Would you tell me what about your job and life led up to you taking the name Catclaw?"

"Well I really have a dumb boring life, it's not much to talk about," he said.

"Go ahead, tell what there is to tell," he said, leaving any magical influence out of his words. A judge's voice would not be encouraging at his LOVE, but there were other ways to encourage.

"And didn't you say that you already heard the story about the name Burgerpants?" he added. So he was lucid right now even if he couldn't recall what occurred in the stadium an hour ago.

"Eh, hearing it straight from you could give more leeway in the actual judgment," Sans said.

"Wait, I'm going to be judged?" he said. But his tail curled close in anxiety rather than flicked in anger.

"If you're truthful with me, it shouldn't be as harsh," he said. Since Tom wasn't getting angry at him, Sans decided to give him some hope. "You've been possessed by a wayward spirit, possibly for ten days given what day you think it is. We need to determine what actions and motivations you had yourself to figure out what's really happened."

"Oh, well that explains the being a girl problem," Tom said, relaxing but still on his guard. "All right, I'll talk. So, I wanted to be an actor, just like Mettaton. He was building up his network those days, so I thought it'd be as simple as showing my stuff to him and asking for work. I even ran away from home to do it, although I was nearly ready to be on my own anyhow. But when I got around to asking, he totally dismissed me! He didn't think I had any potential as a star at all! Even so, he told me that I could work for him and polish myself up so I could be one, so I agreed to that.

"But then he stuck me in as a burger cook and cashier and janitor at a fast food shop in his hotel! There was nothing glamorous about that at all! He even said that you needed no talent to do the job. And Mettaton had all kinds of crazy demands, wanting these cheap easy foods to be sparkled up into star-worthy foods. It was all junk, but it was expensive junk and hardly anybody came around to eat there.

"But the worst was how he treated us working there." By this point, he was angry. It wasn't dangerously so. Sans kept listening, ready to move away if he lashed out. "It was long hours of boredom and tedium, plus our work schedules were never consistent. If we got called in, we were expected to drop everything and show up right away even if it was supposed to be a day off. Most folks quit after a few months, but I was dumb enough to keep on in hopes that he kept good on his word to help me be a star. Mettaton even made this album that was specifically about how horrible I was at my job and it got played at work over and over again. Even my co-workers looked down on me for that and bullied me into the worst jobs, or even working alone there while they skipped out."

"Sounds like fast food hell," Sans said. Some of this needed verification, especially the album. If it was true, then Mettaton would have to be questioned as well. That was sure to be a pain given how much that robot valued his reputation.

"It really was," Tom said, seeming more at ease in talking to him. "Although when I was working there, I'd had all these creepy nightmares of how it could be even worse, believe it or not. It was of this weird customer who had a LOVE that was purely demonic, and there'd be this eerie silence around like we were the only ones alive. I mean, it was just nightmares, but they crept into my thoughts the longer that hell dragged on."

Did he recall Frisk as well? Tom didn't seem like one who could influence time. Although, they did have access to the lab's resources now; it should be possible to scan him for any abnormalities. He wasn't the only one without a chronograph that had faint recollections of lost times.

While Sans made a note of that, Tom went on talking. "But there was something I envied about that kid in the nightmares. They weren't going to let anybody put them down in any way. And while I was working there, I started reading crime and mystery stories. It's all wrong, that's what everybody says, but I wanted that freedom to take what I wanted and not care about what others thought. I started using Catclaw online as a name because he kept escaping from the judges and doing what he wanted. I wasn't really thinking about what he was doing, just that he had the guts to actually do things instead of just saying 'yes sir' and doing what he was ordered to, like I was living."

The original Catclaw thought he was being merciful and insisted that the grieving families should thank him for killing off their children. And he'd kept trying to charm Papyrus into coming somewhere alone with him to kill him, saying that Sans was being tainted by his emerging judge powers. Then again, this Catclaw had been killing off people at random, seemingly for pleasure. Was Tom that cruel or had it been the human soul that Frisk had to tightly bind to its doll?

"There was a lot of resentment against King Asgore that was getting popular at the time, so I got swept up in that," Tom said, still recalling his life. "I felt like I was trapped and worthless, and only my persona of Catclaw kept me out of going mad with despair. As Catclaw, I had an opportunity to really change the kingdom, far more than I could have as just another weak star trailing behind Mettaton. People started to look up to me, so I got more into organizing an uprising against Asgore. We know that just one monster with one human soul can pass through the barrier, since Asriel did so. So we had everything we needed to take a step out of here and gain our freedom.

"Eventually, I decided to quit my dumb job and work full time towards that goal." He seemed proud of himself then, holding his head high. "Mettaton and his groupies harassed me to return to work, but I told them off! It was the most amazing feeling to finally do that, the time when I finally felt important and strong! Of course, I had no income being a revolutionary. But since I was willing to go out there and protest myself, I got some sponsors from more cowardly folks who wanted to make a difference too but couldn't bring themselves to do it. Actually, I tried to talk them into stepping forward themselves, becoming independent masters of their fate such as myself."

"Did you get any who did?" Sans asked. It would be good to find out who was sponsoring the riots and protests, although there weren't laws to deal with the people involved nonviolently.

"A few, mostly younger folks like myself who felt strangled by the lives they slipped into," Tom said. "I started worrying about the shadowy ones, like if they were the ones who were the real power of the kingdom. You know, the reclusive super wealthy who make their own spacious palaces while the rest of us have to cram into small apartments and make ends meet with thankless mindless jobs. I don't know why they'd have a beef with Asgore when his lax leadership allows them to thrive. Maybe they're just bored and are amused at our actions." Tom scowled at that.

This wasn't the first time Sans had heard of such conspiracy theories about a secret enclave controlling the kingdom. It was apparently a common belief among criminals who came from low tier jobs. From those who snapped in high-tier jobs that made them among the wealthy of monsters, there was a matching theory that a shadow organization of lazy wastrels who didn't want to work were sneaking in laws that forced the upper class to support them. But honestly, there was no evidence for either conspiracy.

As he continued talking, Tom could describe his work in organizing the protests and pushing them into riots clearly. He was aware that he'd killed Sohla and Jeremy in order to escape. But after that, his recollections got hazy. "I know I felt really powerful, in control of my life and many more," he said, confused and trying to work out what he'd been doing. "I think others died? But I don't know who, or how many. It's all like a dream, like something I imagined doing but I don't feel like I really did."

Tom would definitely need to be watched closely, with lots of care taken to make sure he still didn't see killing as a sport. He might just go crazy and go on another murder spree even without the hostile spirit controlling him. And if he was allowed to speak freely to his followers, he could stir them back up into a frenzy. Still, Frisk had come back from far worse corruption. It was hard to say that Tom here was irredeemable when he wasn't sure what he'd been doing.

And he would need to be punished for the lives he'd already taken; some responsibility lay with him too. Opening up the folder that had this Catclaw's reports, Sans pulled out some papers on the victims. "You may not be able to think clearly about what's happened, so here, I'll show you." And he started to detail what lives had been taken.

While Tom tried to be tough hearing about the two judges, it wasn't long before he was in tears and wanted to stop. But he had to know about all of them even if it was a torment.

* * *

When Flowey finally stopped falling, he was yet again a spirit observer with nothing he could do. And yet again, he was looking at himself. This time, it was in the Hotland lab talking with Dr. Alphys. "Don't even tell them that, just see who answers," he said. "They never care to respond, and rarely even hit the like button. It's not going to change, why keep trying?"

"People reply sometimes," she said, although she was making it a weak argument to herself. "But most of the stuff I post doesn't get a response. But if I ask, someone should respond."

The scene then blinked out; what sense was that supposed to make?

He was then inside Undyne's house, where she was leaning against the wall by the piano. She looked over the large instrument but didn't make a move to play it. Her mind was alternating between stunned blankness where she wasn't sure how she felt and hundreds of questions of grief and not wanting to accept this. Hadn't she been helping? What more could she have done? Could she have prevented her death if she'd just told her how she really felt? What had made her do that to herself? Why couldn't she see the danger there? But, would she really have been any good? She knew how to confront evil and stop them from hurting others, but this?

"Oh geez, what's with the melodrama?" Flowey grumbled. "This has nothing to do with us! Give me Chara!"

In response, he found himself flying back, way back when he and Chara had ventured out into the human world for a brief tragic few hours. "We'll get back home," Asriel mumbled, feeling like he was in a dream where he had to force himself to keep moving forward. "We'll get back home, everything will be okay there."

"No it won't, you idiot!" Chara shouted, so angry that she made them falter in flight. He nearly crashed into the side of the mountain, but forced himself onward.

"We'll get home."

She continued her tirade. "This is not what we agreed on! Why are you of all people betraying me, coward?!"

"They were afraid," Asriel said.

"That's not an excuse," Flowey said, angry at himself.

"They thought I'd killed you. Of course they weren't happy about that."

Chara wasn't happy with that either. "What does it matter? We were finally going to have the power to get revenge on all the horrible humans who hurt me and pretended that I didn't exist. They're all terrible, the world will be better off without us humans. And then monsters would be free and happy, why would you decide not to make the whole world a better place?"

"But I don't think it will be right," he said, his inattentiveness to flying nearly made them crash again. He focused back on that, back up to the top of the mountain where they'd come out. The sky was so dark with tiny sparkles spread all around. "We'll get back home, everything will be okay there."

She screamed at him, but it wasn't long before he lost her and nothingness took over.

"Well that sucked," Flowey said. "At least put me back earlier than that, and let me actually influence my past self. Then we'll destroy the humans and make her dream come true."

Make her dream come true.

Time whirled around Flowey so fast that for a moment, he wasn't sure what was going on. But then the images began to make sense... bits of him playing around before he met Chara, bits of that fateful night...

Then it jerked back to normal speed, settling in on a room that Flowey didn't recognize. It didn't look that nice, with a mattress on the floor covered in a few dull blankets that seemed like they'd be scratchy. Over the pitiful bed, there was a poorly patched hole in the wall, through which unpleasant scents that he couldn't identify came from. There was a bookshelf, lightly populated with a few tattered old books. Some broken toys were pushed into a pile in the corner. And through the shut door, he could hear a man and woman arguing loudly about something.

And finally, Chara was back with him. Both the little doll and the real Chara; they both looked completely the same to him, just one was tiny enough that if he were a flower again, he could be holding it. For now, it was just hovering by him in a transparent form. He imagined that he was holding her, just playing like he was a ghost going through time.

The living Chara sat on the mattress with one of the larger books open on her lap. There was a cute picture on one page of a blue-eyed blond-haired sweet little girl with dimples and blush who was enjoying a flowery dance with a bunch of small slender creatures that looked like barely dressed humans with bug wings. "I want to be adopted by the fairies too," Chara said with a pout. She gripped some of her stringy brown hair. "But I'm not pretty enough, not like her."

"I think you're pretty," Flowey said.

Then scene shifted to a later point in the same room. Chara had a black eye and a cut on her lip, and a grimace like she wasn't going to admit to being at fault. Which she wasn't, the other kid had started the fight. However, her human mother was in the room, a person who smelled like smoke. "Why did you have to get in a fight again, you worthless child?"

"Wasn't my fault," Chara grumbled. They'd been calling her names; they'd been asking for it.

"Well not only are you suspended now, but the school is going to send a social worker to come harass us again," the woman said. "You'd better be a polite girl and tell them what they want to hear to make them leave us alone. If you don't give them any reason to investigate further, they'll give up because they're just government workers. So don't give them a reason."

In contrast to the smoky mother, the social worker was nicely dressed and looked to be brimming with health. They were meeting in a better smelling room somewhere. "How are things at home?" the social worker said.

Chara's lips tightened. Flowey curled his Chara doll closer. "Aw come on, someone like that doesn't deserve your love. Tell her the truth."

"Mom and Dad fight every time he comes home now, which isn't often," Chara said. "He punched a hole in my wall and didn't make a good fix in it, so every time I try to go to sleep, I keep hearing the TV in the living room with the awful shows Mom watches. It's stuff about murder, drug parties, and lots of icky romantic stuff. Though sometimes she has friends over late and they're really noisy."

The scene blipped like something wasn't right with a television or monitor. "Who makes the meals in your house?"

Chara shrugged. "Mom does sometimes, but mostly she takes out and leaves some left-overs for me. If I ask her for something, she tells me to make it myself. I don't do that good at it, but I can make myself soup or raviolis from a can."

Since she'd spoken honestly, the social worker didn't let Chara go back home until someone had gone there to inspect things without warning her parents. The story then unfolded quickly around Flowey. Chara's mother had been arrested while her father had disappeared entirely from Ebott City. With them out of her life, Chara was sent to a place that took care of troubled children and helped them find a better way of living. Chara kept being angry at humanity for a while, but she came to accept the other children and the people watching over them.

That led her to decide not to go to Mt. Ebott. Instead, she worked hard so that she could get accepted to a good school. Her studies led her to become a social worker just like the lady who had rescued her from her neglectful parents. She went on to save other troubled children and help make their lives better as well. At the end of it all, she died of old age with pride in her life, and then Mt Ebottt itself collapsed a century later and killed every monster living there.

The sudden unexpected mass death caused their souls to fuse together instead of immediately disappear. Filled with the despair and pain of all monsters, the spirit lashed out and killed many humans in the city nearby. And once it started absorbing souls, there was no stopping it from consuming every soul in the world, even those of the angels and demons. Thus did the world die.

"What kind of horrible story was that?" Flowey asked. "It sucked. I mean, I guess it worked out for her in that she led a great life and was recognized for it. But she never came and met me! Even if that finally ended the world, I can't accept that."

Thankfully, the time rifts heeded his complaint and whirled time back again. This time, Flowey didn't try to encourage Chara with the social worker. She said that everything was fine and the other kids were just picking on her all the time. The social worker couldn't do much with that aside from getting her assigned to another district. While the lady did tell her office that Chara's situation was worrying, there wasn't enough evidence there to remove her from her mother's care.

Chara's awful mother saw this as a victory, but soon forgot it and got more interested in spending more time with her friends. Unhappy with this, Chara decided to run away. This way, she ended up going to the mountain to find the fairies that she read about. She wanted to be kidnapped by them to be taken to a fairy world where everything was good and candy was considered healthy. She ended up falling past the barrier to where monsters lived instead.

And that was the magical moment they had first met. Chara was injured by her fall and Asriel had no idea of the special kind of hell that his future held. But he thought she didn't seem as horrible as the old legends about humans made them out to be and managed to convince his parents to take her in. The monsters were much nicer to her than humans, more fun to be around. Especially the Dreemurrs. Toriel could bake the most wonderful pies, Asgore introduced her to the joys of tea and gardening, and Asriel was always trying to make her smile or laugh.

One time they had a yearly festival in the capitol. Chara didn't understand what this festival was all about, since it remembered someone who the majority of the participants had never met. But Toriel had made her a beautiful new dress to wear and there would be dancing, games, and music. The fun of it all was something she looked forward to.

But looking in the mirror at herself in the new dress, she felt like it didn't suit her. She liked wearing striped clothes because stripes were fun; the dress was not striped. More than just that was wrong with it. It fit comfortably and yet didn't make her feel comfortable in it. Chara turned and looked, thinking... it was too pretty for her. It was pretty enough for Toriel because she was a wonderful person. And if it had been the blond girl in the fairy book, it'd look perfect on her. But on Chara, it was a waste because she was horrible. She'd bitten a kid hard enough to send him to the hospital, she'd gotten suspended from school, she nearly got her real parents in trouble with the law, and she'd run away from home. Plus she didn't look pretty herself.

"You are not horrible," Flowey said. "You're great."

"I don't deserve any of this stuff, and I'm an ugly girl," Chara said quietly.

"No you're not." But right then, the door knocked and Asriel came in to talk with her. He had their Mom's video camera with him, but had left the lens cap on in a silly way.

She made herself have fun at the festival because that's what everyone expected. Although, it did leave her feeling very tired at the end of the day. She went to bed early and woke up well after Asriel had. The scene shifted again, bringing Chara to sneak down the stairs and head out to the walkway that circled around the capitol. Being higher than nearly everything else, it gave a good view over the city. It wasn't quite like Ebott City, but she thought it was nicer here.

Asgore came down to check on her. "I like walking around here too," he said. "Not only does it lead to the garden, but I can look over this city and think about how best to make my people happy."

"Can you make everybody happy?" Chara asked.

"Not entirely, since everyone has their problems and unhappiness," he admitted. "But I can try to alleviate what problems I can, and not cause more problems for others."

Her human mother had always called her needy for having so many problems, including ones that had to be dealt with daily like having food around for her. She was even causing these nice monsters problems by being a burden who needed things like a different bathroom. "I don't want to cause problems," Chara said. "That dress Mom gave me yesterday must've taken a lot of work."

He smiled. "She does work hard at her sewing, and does wonderfully as a result."

Although sometimes she had some questionable tastes, like that gaudy pick sweater for Asgore. "Did I do something special to get that kind of pretty thing?"

"You being yourself is special enough for that kind of pretty thing," Asgore said warmly.

Except that she didn't like herself and she didn't see that she'd done anything special enough to earn a dress that was too pretty for her to be wearing. Flowey wondered if her human mother's crazy words had been enough to make her think so little of herself. He'd not realized that she felt that way, although he did know that she hated all of humanity for it. What could he have done to make her happy with herself?

Even thinking that, he let the scenes play out. She'd read some of the books their parents had and from them, she got the idea to kill herself and get Asriel to absorb her soul to kill enough humans to destroy the barrier. At no point did she show fear or doubt in her plan; she wanted it to happen more than anything. And to make her happy, Asriel had gone along with it. They trusted each other; they were best friends forever. They could make this happen.

This time, Flowey wasn't going to let his past self get away with chickening out at the last minute. He wished for Chara to override him at the right moment. And, it worked. The humans who had come to attack him didn't even get a chance to injure him. They died in a swarm of fireballs and their souls were absorbed. But, their souls didn't get a chance to take control. Chara made sure to destroy her whole neighborhood first, making her old home the center of the inferno. When day came about, she went to the school she had attended and razed it as well.

By that point, there was nothing to stop her. The school had been mostly empty at the time, so Chara methodically destroyed the roads and rails out of the city before setting it all on fire. Some people fled into the forests, so she made sure those caught on fire as well. Everything seemed to be burning around them and she was pleased. But, it was too dangerous for the monsters to be leaving right then. She waited for the fires to die off, then destroyed the barrier and hurled away a large portion of the mountainside so that the monsters could see that they were free.

They were horrified at the scene of absolute destruction that awaited them when they left. There was nothing but charcoal and ashes out to the horizons. Seeing that, the monsters were so afraid that they retreated to parts of the mountain where they couldn't see the outside, where they hoped they would be safe from their prince and princess.

Chara was enraged at that. How could they not appreciate what she had done for them? Asriel tried to say that they'd done something awful to scare everyone else away like this. But she wouldn't listen. His voice had grown weak from that. Only thinking in anger, Chara brought the mountain down on top of the hiding monsters. That would take care of them. But she didn't feel satisfied with this. Her hatred was not quelled. She sought out others to destroy, becoming so powerful that the world died and she was left alone to finally kill herself as the last remnant of humanity.

"Oh please, she would not have destroyed the mountain and all the monsters still living there," Flowey said. Although, a bit of him doubted this. "I don't know why I was complaining, at least I died with her. Is there any good way that our plan could have panned out? Cause maybe I should have stopped her then. That would keep her alive, I'm sure of it. We could've made her happy with herself."

Before he could go back to the very beginning again, another time rift appeared and swallowed him up.


	30. The Holy Blood God

When Flowey's body came back together, it was actually his body. His flower body, true, but even that was better than a formless spirit that was more useless than a balloon. Stretching his roots down into the soil, he felt a lot better. Although, it was cold and snowy, being that he'd arrived in Snowdin for some reason. The streets were bustling and the monsters were full of excitement.

"Did I get punted out?" Flowey muttered, making sure that his Chara doll was with him. "Figures. There was so much unhelpful stuff there. But if I do go back in time, I'll know to talk to Mom and Dad and make sure that Chara doesn't want to kill herself. Then everything will be much better. I will fix history, I just have to get my vines on another chronograph.

"Oh hey, are you talking little flower?" someone asked. A shadow fell over him as Papyrus crouched down by him. For some reason, he was wearing a glittery blue snowflake sweater and matching fuzzy hat. "Or is there someone just as tiny down there?"

"I'm the one talking, Papyrus, sheesh," Flowey said.

A look of wonder came over the tall skeleton's face. "Oh wow, it does talk! And it knows my name! You're a rare flower to be yellow in the snow. What's your name?"

Didn't he know? Or, was this a time when Chara had not died and thus he had not become a flower? "Well, then, howdy! My name is Flowey, Flowey the Flower. I know some mysterious things, you see."

"That's amazing! I should introduce you to Sans, we could have fun together!" He reached down but didn't pluck him. Instead, he offered to carry him.

"Hang on, I'll come up but let's not go see him quite yet," Flowey said, taking out his roots and gripping onto his fingerbones. "I don't want to cause a huge fuss, and, uh, get accidentally trampled, you know?"

"You're right, that would be bad," Papyrus said, standing up with him still in hand.

"Actually, I know mysterious things, but then I don't know about more normal things," he said, in order to excuse any weird things he might say on accident. "So, then, what's going on here? Everyone seems happy."

"It's because this is a great day!" Papyrus said, excited as he often got. "It's the king's birthday and everybody is celebrating for him! He's the barrier between us and humanity, keeping us safe while finding a way to get us outside. Of course, that means he can't do a lot because he has to stay where he is. But he's going to be making a televised appearance soon; I can't wait to hear from him directly!"

"The king is the barrier?" Flowey asked, finding the idea odd.

He nodded. "Yup! Nobody can get past him!"

Then someone further in town called, "Hey, the broadcast is coming on soon!"

"Oh boy, let's get going!" Papyrus said, running back into town while still carrying him.

Flowey had to grip tighter to feel close to secure. "Hey, hey! Put me down! Flowers aren't supposed to fly through the air."

"Oops, sorry." He did pause to set him back down. "But hey, you can probably sneak in closer to the big screen cause you're so small! Don't miss it!" Papyrus then hurried off to make sure he got a good spot.

"Well that's true," Flowey said, burrowing back underground and following the sounds of everyone's feet to find the spot. When he popped back above the snow, he found that a huge projector screen had been set up in the middle of Snowdin for this event. Off to the side, Alphys was tinkering with some machinery to make it work. Flowey popped back up closer to her. "Howdy there!"

Alphys looked down, puzzled when she noticed him. "Oh, a talking flower? Hello there. Please be careful, this is full of electricity and it would be bad for a plant like you." She seemed almost normal.

"What're you doing?" he asked, trying to figure out more about where he'd ended up.

"Setting up this projector to allow the people here to gather for the king's address," Alphys said. "He wanted to do this and I worked my claws off trying to make a system that could manage it and be simple to operate. More things could go wrong at this location, so I chose to be here. Though, I wish I could be at the castle with him. It'd be nice to work with him in person more often." She smiled happily, not a care in the world.

Well she couldn't have messed up as badly as her real self had. "What, you have a crush on him?"

She immediately blushed at that. "Wh-he-hey! No I don't! It's just, he's really nice and he's sacrificed so much for everyone else in the kingdom. Anybody would be happy for a chance to do things for him and take some of the burden off him."

Flowey wasn't convinced. "Huh, but what about Undyne?"

"What about who?" she asked, confused.

That confused him. "Oh, you know, only the head of the Royal Guard?"

"No, that's not right," Alphys said, more confident like she knew he was wrong. "There's a rabbit and dragon duo who co-lead the Royal Guard these days, and neither of them are named Undyne. I don't know anybody by that name."

"Oh, well never mind," he said, trying not to look dumb. "I must've mistaken you for someone else."

"Sorry, flower, you're a curious monster but I've got to finish up here," Alphys said.

"Hey, there's the talking flower!" Papyrus said, coming over.

"Um, are you two friends?" Alphys asked. "Could you take him elsewhere?"

"Sure thing, and I've got to introduce him to Sans!" Papyrus offered his hand again.

"Right, that," Alphys said skeptically, rolling her eyes.

Why? For that question, Flowey consented to be picked up again. "All right, if I have to. Where is he?"

"Wait a bit," Papyrus said, stepping away from where Alphys was working and standing at the sides of a few rows of benches. Kids and older monsters were given first choice on sitting there. Once clear, he brought out a skeleton plushie. "Here he is!"

Gripping his own doll tight, Flowey looked over the plushie. It did have some resemblance to Sans but was much too cute to actually be him. "Oh yeah? Hi Sans."

Papyrus was delighted that he acknowledged the plushie. "He's glad to meet you! And I'm glad you didn't say he's just a plushie. Cause he's not, he's my brother. Dad said he could only afford to have one child, but I always knew better. I always knew I had a big brother. Since I'm sure he watches me in spirit, I keep him close at hand with this doll. Someday, he'll find a way to appear at my side and we'll be together as the brothers we're meant to be."

"Well he does tend to appear when you least expect him," Flowey said.

"Wow, you really do know mysterious things. Do you know how I'll find him?"

"Have you tried Grillby's?" he asked.

Before Papyrus could answer, Alphys called on them to quiet down as she'd gotten the projector working just in time for the broadcast to start. Mettaton in his boxy form appeared on screen. "Hello hello lovely viewers!" he called out. "I'm only here briefly to introduce to you, the king of all monsters, Asriel Dreemurr! Happy birthday, your majesty!" Confetti burst out as Mettaton rolled aside.

"Asriel?" Flowey mumbled. He'd become king by this time?

And the monster who appeared was nothing like what he expected. He had some resemblance to Baphomet, having large leathery wings and more curling horns than Asgore had. But this timeline's Asriel was mostly a pure white, his horns and wing structures golden. He radiated power even through this broadcast. The whole town of Snowdin called birthday wishes and cheered in excitement.

After a minute, Asriel held a hand out and quieted those watching. "Thank you all for your warm wishes just now," he said, sounding more like an angel should sound than the one angel that Flowey had met. "We may not see each other often, but I feel the warmth of each and every one of you every day. It gives me the strength to continue to be your shield. Hopefully, one day we will get to see the sun and enjoy it. For now, keep strong and keep hoping. It may be my birthday today, but I wish so much that I could give you joy and freedom right now. I promise, some day I will."

"He could have anything he wants, but he's always so selfless," Papyrus said in awe. "I want to be as great as him some day." Others watching were equally touched.

Flowey was thinking that his other self was just saying what would make others admire him, but then Asriel obviously hesitated at something. "Actually, there is something I could ask for. There's a golden flower that speaks that recently appeared in the underground. I wish to speak to him. It's nothing you all need to search for as my subjects. The flower is watching right now and can decide if he wants to come or not on his own. Thank you."

"Wow, he must be talking about you Flowey!" Papyrus said, loud enough that others around them looked their way. Alphys was already doing that. "That's such an honor!"

"Uh, yeah, all right," he said, feeling squeamish at all this attention. "Hey, put me down, I can make my way to the castle on my own."

"All right, have a safe trip," Papyrus said, setting him back in the snow again so he could burrow away.

Several minutes later, he was really missing the sudden scene changes that made things so convenient for watching a story play out quickly. Why was this time different? Whatever, as long as Chara was here, it wouldn't matter. He'd even be fine sticking around as a flower. He just wanted to be with her again. He popped up in the throne room where the garden was.

The garden itself looked very different. There were less flowers and more herbs growing here, giving it the smell of a kitchen rather than a perfume-filled garden. At the door closest to the barrier, a burly dragon in black armor was standing guard. He clenched his spear when Flowey appeared, wary of his presence.

"It's all right," an angelic voice said from down the hall. "Let him by."

The dragon guard spoke slowly and skeptically. "This... evil flower?"

The king logically pointed out, "If he causes any trouble, I can handle it far better than anyone else in our kingdom. Let him by."

"Fine," the dragon said, relaxing his guard. "Behave yourself."

"Ffft, I could've passed without your permission," Flowey said, burrowing back underground and heading towards the archway.

A sensation that he'd only felt once before made his body tingle: this was a power of holy light that would burn away anything evil. He had second thoughts about this meeting as it could end badly and he might not be bailed out again. If he died within the time rifts, would he return? Or would he entirely cease to be? But this was a unique chance to talk to a crazy powerful version of himself. Perhaps he could be talked into helping to take Frisk's chronograph from him and completely ruining that jerk.

Trying not to wince, Flowey popped into the hall leading to the outside. True to what he'd been told, the ancient barrier was completely gone. The sun could be clearly seen spilling across the cavern floor. And here was Asriel as well, creating his own barrier around the mountain to keep the humans from entering. Wispy lines of energy that hadn't been visible on TV were wrapped around his body, stretching out to maintain his defense.

"You are me somehow, aren't you?" Asriel asked. "There's a sense of disorientation when I look at you."

"Is it the nature of you holy types to just start asking personal questions?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm you, a very messed up version of you. But I'm not using that name anymore. Call me Flowey."

"I must know what you're here for, Flowey, that's why I ask these things," Asriel said.

He flicked a free leaf at that. "Well you could have just asked that. I've been jumping in and out of time rifts trying to find Chara again." He nearly shut up on that subject, but Asriel was sitting there calmly, a sympathetic look to his eyes when he mentioned her. So he ended up adding on, "Everything else has messed up beyond my control and the game's completely different from what I once knew. So I decided that I would find her again and I did not care how I did so. I even went to where dead humans go after their funerals, but it was too late and the angel there was a jerk."

"I don't like to say this, but I'm afraid that you'll not find her here," Asriel said, closing his eyes sadly. But he managed to keep his words calm. "She died nearly a century ago, shortly after she turned fourteen."

"Seriously?!" He nearly dropped his Chara doll, but made sure to catch her before she slipped out of the leaf. "That sucks. But, that would have been well after that plan we made to gather six other human souls and break the barrier."

Asriel looked back down at him. "Ah, you really must be me if you know of that. No one knew the full extent of that plan outside of me and her."

"So what happened, did you break the barrier then?" Flowey asked.

He shook his head. "No, I got scared of losing her. I told Mom and Dad about it before she planned on poisoning herself with the flowers. She got so mad that she punched me and nearly killed me. However, I managed to convince them that she wasn't thinking right and they agreed. She got put in a more secure room away from me and we eventually talked her out of the idea. She was in a lot of turmoil because her human parents treated her poorly and she thought poorly of herself as a result."

"Well I learned that way too late," he said.

Thankfully, Asriel declined to comment on that. "Once she got over being mad at me, she was upset for a long time; it was a rough time on all of us. Our parents tried everything they knew to cheer her up, but no one was sure how to handle her. But just as Chara started smiling again, she became ill. It was only a weakness that made her stumble and bruise easily at first. She slept longer and always complained about being hungry. At the same time, she stopped eating and said that the magical foods we made her didn't make her feel full at all. Dad tried to grow some physical foods in the garden, but it was too little too late. She hung on for a long time and suffered for it, but finally died of starvation."

"Are you serious?" Flowey asked, although he had a feeling that he was telling the truth. Maybe it was the holy magic confirming it.

Asriel nodded. "When a human child begins the process of growing into an adult, they need to be on a diet of physical foods. We didn't realize that and Chara paid the price for our ignorance. And Mom and Dad," he stopped a moment and rubbed at his eyes. "They got hit hard by that realization. They lost all hope and joy and..." he waved his hand, "they faded away out of sorrow. So all the power in their souls went straight to me. I went from a child just gaining magical powers to an adult with the full power and responsibility of a royal monster in just a day. It was a huge shock to lose my whole family in such a relatively small amount of time, even though I knew they weren't doing well. But I had to put my sorrows aside in order to be the king and help others recover from the tragedy as well. They've all been wonderful to me; I only want their happiness, so I feel like I can endure anything for them."

He talked a lot. Still, Flowey found himself listening with interest. This was how he could have turned out. Asriel was powerful. Then again, being stuck to one spot willingly all for the benefit of others? He wasn't sure he could take that. "There would need to be a good reason to do this," Flowey said. "But how did you get this powerful? You're way beyond every other monster."

"I did take in Chara's soul to try being with her," Asriel said. "But her voice was faint and soon was lost to me even if I had power from her and our parents. Then another human child was found in Snowdin. I didn't want to see her go through what Chara did, so I escorted her back home myself. I got spotted somehow and the humans decided to eliminate us after all this time. I don't know why; I would've talked with them peacefully from the start. When a group came in intent on killing my people, I had to fight back. I ended up taking over their souls as well. When I got the chance, I broke down the barrier and tried to talk with them."

"That must've ended poorly," Flowey said.

He nodded. "They saw how powerful I was and declared that no monster was safe to be around. Just me, they didn't even try to check out the rest. So I remade the barrier, to protect us this time. The humans have been quiet for a while; I'm hoping they are having second thoughts, but I'm not holding my breath for it."

"That's probably a smart thing," he said. "I guess if you'll tell me that much, I can tell you what happened to me. But first, do you know of a monster named Undyne? She should be around."

"Oh yes, her," Asriel said, looking aside.

"So she was here," he said.

"It's my fault on that matter," he said. "I didn't know what to do with her. She was just a young mergirl when I started getting reports from the judges about her wild spirit and reckless aggression. Since I wasn't sure how to handle her, I let the judges try to calm her down. Eventually, she set out to challenge me and prove that she was the strongest monster around. But my guards can get zealous and she ended up killed before she could see me. I wanted to give her a chance, but with me holding the barrier together, nobody wants to take chances on losing me."

"Guess not," Flowey said. "All right, I'll tell you my side of things. I believed in Chara; I still do, no matter what's going on. So we went through with everything. It was rough, but when we fused, her voice was very strong. She wanted to take her body back to the surface and find some kind of special flower around the city. There was something about that it had mythical mystical powers. But when we finally found a garden of them, we got spotted and they thought I'd killed her. They shot at us with spells and guns, but I chickened out and just flew off with her, without hurting any of them."

"That's a good choice," Asriel said.

"No it wasn't!" he said, shaking some. "Hmph, humans have been trying to kill you and you think we should've been merciful?"

"It's better not to continue a cycle of violence," he said.

"Whatever, kill or be killed," Flowey said dismissively. "Cause that's what happened to me! I barely held our body together and Chara was yelling at me the whole way back, rightfully so."

Asriel raised an eyebrow at that. "As nice as she was to me, she did have an explosive temper and a skewed view on humanity as a whole, even herself."

"But she's smart and her ideas are brilliant," Flowey said. "When we finally got back home, I only made it as far as the throne room before I dropped her body and collapsed there. Mom, Dad, and a few others found us and I know I was trying to tell them what went on. I must've managed somehow because there's stories about it that are pretty accurate. Dad lost his temper one day after that and said that he'd kill every human who came down here in order to bring war to the surface. But that made Mom mad at him, so she ran off and locked herself into the Ruins. That's just what I learned later because I was dead in the garden."

"Then how are you here now as a flower?" Asriel asked. He seemed bothered to hear about how Asgore and Toriel had reacted to their failed plan's results.

"Well the seeds of those magical flowers are really sticky, so they ended up in the garden," he explained. "My essence ended up with those flowers. The next part's kind of long and boring cause it doesn't involve me much, but six other humans did end up in the underground. All kids, and they all got killed and their souls were stored away to be absorbed at the same time. Then no more showed up for decades, forcing them to get creative to make up for that seventh soul that was needed to become a true god like you."

"I bet Dad didn't really want to do it," Asriel said.

"He is a big chicken wuss," Flowey said. "But there was this dorky scientist girl named Alphys who was allowed to research the power of souls in order to break the barrier. She ended up making a huge mess out of it, it was a glorious horror show. However, she knew that a monster couldn't absorb another monster's soul no matter how you twisted things. They couldn't get a human to manipulate the monster's soul power, that's stupid."

"And she decided on a flower?" he asked.

"Yup, that's me," he said, flicking his free leaf. "She was trying to be all meaningful and stuff and managed to take out the one golden flower that most of my essence had gotten absorbed by. Then she extracted pure determination from the human souls, copied it, and injected it into this flower as well as some comatose near-dead monsters. That woke me back up, but I was soulless as a result."

"No you're not," he said.

Flowey frowned. "Yes I am! Dammit, I wish people would stop saying that. I woke up not able to feel love at all. Not from anybody else, and certainly not from myself. You can't imagine how horrible that makes life, able to see emotions in others that you don't feel yourself, or being insanely detached from everyone no matter how you try to be friends. I only make friends now if they entertain me or are useful to me."

"That sounds like you're a sociopath, not a soulless being," Asriel said. "Someone who has lost their soul still carries it, but it's often locked up and chained to whomever possesses it currently. Once they die or give up, the soul's possessor can do whatever they want with them."

"And how do you know that?" he asked. Though, it was something interesting to know. Frisk was still going because it was near impossible for him to give up or die as long as he had his chronograph. Baphomet was the one paying attention to them, so perhaps some deal could be struck.

He tilted his head towards the door to outside. "The humans summoned an angel to deal with us. I talked them into teaching me instead."

"Lucky you," he muttered. Then he spoke up again, "Whatever. To cut the rest of it short because it's too crazy to go into, I've decided that the only thing that matters now is getting back with Chara. Only her soul went back to the Earth Mother already, so I'm forced into taking this path through time rifts in order to find a history where she lives. And I did find one where she lived a long life, but never came to Mt Ebott. That one doesn't count."

"That may be impossible," he said with pity.

Flowey snarled. "I'll make it possible! I don't care if I have to make the same four or six years run over and over again because that's what's been going on in my timeline with all the people who can manipulate time there. I'll have to go back a hundred years, but I don't care, I will make this work and we'll finally be happy forever."

"I don't think that'll go over well with your other time manipulators," Asriel said.

"I know, that's obvious. They're trying so hard to get past a kink in time when the whole world has ended at a certain year. But none of it will matter because Chara won't be there and I'll end up disappearing entirely because I have no soul!"

This time, Asriel didn't try to argue with it. He put his fingers together near his mouth and thought about it. "Hmm, you really want to bring her back."

"Of course, wouldn't you if you had the chance?"

He looked guilty for a second, but didn't reply. "And you want to recover your ability to love?"

That caused Flowey to hesitate. "Well... yeah. Hey, don't take me for some sappy idiot, okay? It's just, it really is a miserable existence when the only thing you have going for you is determination. There's... there's always this burning fire inside that never wants to die, never wants to give up. And it pushes you to keep on going even when the odds are getting ridiculously stupid.

"Like, one of the other time manipulators is a human with a truly absurd amount of determination. I think he's even absurd compared to the rest of humanity. He fell into corruption so hard and fast that he sold his own soul to keep going. But then he decided to give up power and violence. Now he's spent centuries of the same ten years steadily shedding that corruption and trying to get past the dead end kink. Which is like three or four years ahead relative to when I left that timeline. And even if he manages to shed all his corruption somehow, none of it will matter when the demon who owns his soul comes around to collect. No one else would even try, but he seems unstoppable because of his determination."

"That is absurdly determined," Asriel said. "I wonder... well, I can consider that later. As for you, I've thought of something that might just help with your goals."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. Maybe there was some point to this aimless wandering. "But why would you do that for me? Aren't we supposed to be immediate enemies because you're holy and I'm evil?"

"We've been talking just fine," he said. He even smiled. "My mentor might disapprove, but you are me. I'd like to help you somehow."

"But what kind of price are you gonna ask for that?" Flowey asked, still suspect of the offer.

"Nothing. Sometimes my subjects come to visit, but they're so in awe of me that I get uncomfortable with the company. So to have a rude little flower come in to talk to me like a normal person, it's enough for me to have spent this time with you."

"You're weird, even if you are me," he said. "So what's your idea?"

"You have a doll of Chara there, right? May I see it?"

"No!" he said sharply, clinging to it. "I've got nothing else of her, I'm not letting her go."

"I think this will work," Asriel said. "Don't worry, you can keep a hold of her if you want. I just need to touch her for a moment."

"Well I guess, but don't take her," Flowey said, uncurling that leaf some so that the doll was visible.

"This might make you uncomfortable," he said as he reached down. And that light he held got more intense, enough that Flowey shut his eyes tight even though it wasn't visible light that was bothering him. This must be something like the cold darkening that people would complain about around him. When he drew back, there seemed to be some kind of spark to the doll now. "There, that part worked."

"What did you do to her?" Flowey said, opening his eyes and looking at the doll. Nothing seemed to have changed.

"Like you had determination put into you, I put a bit of love into her," Asriel explained. "It shouldn't be enough to awaken the doll as you have. But you see, love is best when it's shared and if I gave it straight to you, it'd cause problems with the corruption you bear. The doll will keep that bit of love safe. If you take good care of the doll, then the act of caring should cause the love to seep into you. The bit will grow as you keep caring for the doll, until you can start caring about others again. It may take a long time, but if a human can push himself out of a highly corrupt state based on determination, surely you can as well."

"That sounds silly," he said. "But I'm taking good care of the doll already, so nothing to lose by trying."

"Good, I hope it works for you," Asriel said. Then his cell phone rang; he checked the number on it. "Sorry, this is on the emergency line."

"Yeah, go ahead," Flowey said, still checking over Chara's doll. Her hair was like real hair now; was that Asriel's doing or had it been one of the other changes? No matter. He brushed it straight, didn't think it looked like her, then messed it up a little so it looked more like she did after running around the castle with him.

He did pay attention when Asriel said, "They're going that far? That's... no, I can do something about it. Everyone in the underground sent me such warm wishes today, I can use that now. Keep it quiet for now, Dr. Gaster. If it does reach here, there's not much we can do. And about him? Yes, it's like you were saying. We'll talk about him later. Right, later." He disconnected the call and got to his feet. The wispy strands of magic increased as he did. "It will work."

"What will?"

"Saving everyone." He headed out the door to the outside, the strands being stretched like elastic.

Wondering what was up, Flowey closed his leaf over the doll again and burrowed to meet with him at the door. The sky was clear blue and bright, not a cloud up there. And the landscape below was full of green from trees and grass. Flowey was more interested in what his other self was doing. Looking up into the sky as if searching for something in particular, he stood there silently. On finding what he was looking for, he gave a nod and tensed his body. The power of light grew blinding again, making Flowey duck away to try blocking it out. Then Asriel released that energy towards the spot he was focused on, like a bolt of lightning that for some reason left behind the smell of flowers rather than the sound of thunder.

"What was that?" Flowey asked.

He shook his head. "It's sad. The humans decided to use nuclear missiles to destroy Mt. Ebott. Thankfully, I was able to transform them into flowers. It should start showering petals for the rest of the day. I wonder what they'll do now."

"Yeah, that's really crazy," he agreed. Then he noticed the city in the distance; it wasn't that distant. "Hey, but, if they're desperate enough to send missiles at you, how much damage would come? And how much would it spread?"

"Hmm? There were half a dozen that we detected, so it could wipe out life for miles around us. I'm not sure how far, but they'd take out more than just us and the mountain." Asriel looked down at him.

Flowey nodded over towards the city. "So, they'd hit that place too? You'd think that they'd evacuate the city to minimize the loss of other humans in this attack. So it should be empty now."

Asriel looked over there. "You're right, that place is uncomfortably close for a nuclear strike. Hang on." He took out his phone again. "Yeah... thanks, I did. But there's something about this attack that made me think. You know the city that neighbors us? It would be in the range of destruction of missiles capable of taking all of us down, so it should be empty. Yes, it is a good opportunity, but I want a scouting team to head into the city and make sure of its condition. We should send them out through the exit at the Old Viewpoint. Yes, look up some people for that. I'll get back to you in a few minutes." He hung up again.

"Of course, the humans could get angrier about you taking over their territory," Flowey said.

"I could remake the barrier over there until they start negotiating with us," Asriel said. "Besides, if they're calling it a war and they abandon their own holdings, it's up for grabs by us."

"No arguments from me." Unfortunately, whatever was manipulating the time rifts decided that now was a good time to grab him back. "I'll be going, good luck!" Flowey said before he started falling again.

He ended up back in the toy store from the capitol, on the shelf where he had picked up Chara's doll. "What kind of time line did I end up in now?" Flowey said. The store was quiet, although the lights were on. Still, he was alone. "Well, I'll hang around unless something changes."


End file.
